


Head First, No Regrets

by PapersWords



Category: The 1975 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, First Meetings, M/M, Sappy, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:07:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 76,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27765694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PapersWords/pseuds/PapersWords
Summary: Adam and Jamie own a catering company that is hired to work Ross and John's wedding. George and Matty are obviously part of the wedding party.I have no clue where I'm going with this, but I wrote most of this in less than 2 weeks and am having fun. Also, I am definitely not from the UK at all, I just have a lifetime of consuming British pop culture to go on, so my apologies upfront.Hope everyone else likes it, despite the unconventional pairing of George and Adam. I just really love the hell out of those two and recently got really into the idea as a pairing, but found nothing.Title is from "Aquaman" by WALK THE MOON.I don't own the people or the songs (though there are some original characters based off of people in my life).
Relationships: Adam Hann/George Daniel, Ross Macdonald/John Waugh
Comments: 7
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

Adam sighs as he closes the door to the cooler, checking the last few items on the list before going to the office and handing the clipboard to Jamie to sign off on.

“Looks all good. Set for tomorrow, yeah?”

Adam nods and says, “All ready to go in the morning, yeah.”

“Right. So. Now you need to go on and get some rest. You’ve done all the hard work on the prep for this, and the next few days are going to be very busy. You look absolutely knackered. Go. I’ll send the final confirmations to the clients and let them know to expect us at the venue to set up at 4pm for rehearsal tomorrow. 10am sharp for the day of.”

“Thanks, mate. See you tomorrow, then.”

Adam grabs his jacket and his bag, heading through the back hallway to the door, shrugging his jacket on as he goes.

He steps out the back door, letting it drop shut behind him as a gust of wind makes him wish he’d zipped his jacket before stepping out, but he just quickly makes his way to his car, tossing his bag into the passenger seat before starting the short trip to his flat.

Once home, he spends a few moments being greeted by Stevie, scratching behind her ears, before taking her out to the backyard to use the bathroom.

They come back inside, and Adam kicks his shoes off by the door, hanging his jacket up, before heading into the kitchen to get the pup her dinner.

He watches Stevie excitedly eat for a moment before heating up some takeout leftovers from the night before.

As he settles into the couch with his leftovers, Stevie sniffs at Adam’s food, having finished her own, and hoping for a little extra.

“No, this is daddy’s food. You ate, now it's my turn. Go on, go lay,” Adam says sternly to the pleading eyes.

Stevie slowly slinks a few steps away before hopping up onto the other end of the couch and curling up, eyes still glued to the container in Adam’s hands.

Adam flips on the tv, putting on an episode of a docuseries about different interesting places around the planet to watch while eating.

He finishes up his dinner, setting the container aside and patting the spot next to him for Stevie to come cuddle with him.

The dog clumsily dives into his side, rolling onto her back with her head on Adam’s lap as Adam rubs her belly.

His mind finally drifts away from work fully, and he doesn’t think anymore about all of the planning for the wedding rehearsal dinner they’re catering tomorrow and wedding the following day, eventually making his way to bed early with Stevie after one last trip into the yard behind his flat to let Stevie go potty.

  
  
  


The next afternoon, Adam takes Stevie outside before getting ready to go.

He quickly heads down the hall with Stevie to Carly’s flat, knocking and waiting for a bit.

She swings the door open with a big smile.

“Hiya, Adam! And hello, Stevie!" She lets Stevie greet her excitedly before smiling back up at Adam with bright eyes.

Adam still isn’t exactly sure how to act around her. When he had first moved into the building, they immediately met, and clearly both fancied each other. They went on a few simple, nice dates, but neither of them felt it was clicking, so they agreed to just be friends. He thinks she’s lovely, but he expected everything to be awkward, and it wasn’t. She was so friendly and sweet, offering to watch Stevie while he had events that lasted longer, saying it gave her an excuse to do puppy play dates with her lab Daisy.

As if manifesting from his thoughts, Daisy pokes her head out the door to sniff at Adam before sitting at his shoes, looking right up at him.

Adam laughs and leans down to pet Daisy before giving Stevie goodbye kisses and scratches.

The dogs run off together into Carly’s flat before Adam thanks her and says to message him if there are any issues.

She assures him it is fine, as always, and is happy to watch Stevie.

“And you’re still fine with tomorrow, yeah? You can always drop her back off in my flat for a while if you need to take a break. I know tomorrow is going to be long. I’ll be gone from 8am to probably midnight. I could board her still.”

“Adam… Stop. It’s perfectly fine! They love to play together, and it gives Daisy something to do while I’m working.”

He nods and says, “Well, I am grateful anyway. Thank you so much.”

“Of course. Don’t work too hard!”

He says a quick goodbye before heading to his car.

Once he arrives at work, Adam finds Jamie and Alex already going through Adam’s list and beginning to load the van.

Adam puts his belongings away and jumps right in, soon joined by Richard and Paul.

Lainey and Sarah show up with coffees for everyone after a few more minutes and they fall into their event-day routines.

Things are a whirlwind for a while, all of them functioning on autopilot, and Adam finds himself in a good mood, enjoying the work.

Weddings are a bit of hit and miss when it comes to their work. Sometimes they’re great, usually they’re just fine. There are the occasional shitshows.

He loves these types of weddings, though.

First of all, it’s indoor and outdoor, with the ceremony being outdoors in the beautiful courtyard, which gives the staff plenty of time and space to do their work during the ceremony. Additionally, the indoor space is laid out great and is spacious.

The clients are a lovely, relaxed gay couple with really reasonable requests, moderate budget, and very grateful for all of the work and planning thusfar. The couple and their parents met with Jamie and Adam early on, and everything was very easy to plan out, they mostly deferred to Jamie and Adam’s judgement and suggestions, asking the right questions and being happy to place confidence in their knowledge and skills as caters.

It is always nice when the clients actually just trust them to be capable of doing their jobs.

The couple, John and Ross, were very sweet and open, John being the pickier of the two, but even that was a breeze. John was apologetic every time he brought up anything or questioned something, which Adam assured him was perfectly fine. It was their wedding, after all, he was allowed to be specific, and Ross did his part of calming John’s nerves about the stress of planning the wedding details. The parents were mostly there to help with budget specifics and be supportive, as they had knowledge of their own weddings. Everything was paid upfront, and the couple specifically requested that the staff allow guests to tip, saying that they would like to be made aware of the amount of tips earned later, so they could personally make up for any lack of tips, in case there were any cheapskates for the open bar and dinner service at either the post-rehearsal dinner or the wedding reception itself.

Adam won some points with John and Ross- and probably their parents, too- in that moment, saying, “We really appreciate that. It’s very kind and generous of you. Though, honestly, you both being so lovely and thoughtful and, well, not frantic, horrible clients is plenty of a tip for me, at least. Most people are just stressed, which is understandable, but some people can really be… difficult. You two have been a delight to work with.”

Ross gave Adam the most appreciative look for making John smile and relax during a stressful wedding planning process. Adam felt confident enough to give him a cheeky wink.

He really did like this whole process, and meant what he said. They really were a lovely pair, and made his job easy.

As they set up for the rehearsal dinner, Adam noticed that the other staff seemed to be in good spirits as well.

Adam can’t imagine that the couple rubbed any of them the wrong way.

  
  
  


As he’s setting up the bar, a loud squeal and some shouting comes from across the venue.

Adam looks up and sees John being lifted and spun in a hug by a rather tall guy with messy blond hair piled on top of his head with shaved sides.

The man sets him down before wrapping Ross up in a big hug.

A smaller man with dark hair- albeit, just as messy as the other man’s- steps up to hug John tightly before hugging Ross, saying something to make him laugh loudly.

Adam smiles and continues setting up.

A while into the rehearsal dinner, John and the blonde come up to the bar, chatting as Adam is covering Lainey as she takes her break.

John laughs at something the blonde says before turning to the bar, smiling gleefully at Adam and Alex.

“And these chaps!” John says gleefully. He turns to Alex, “I am so sorry! I haven’t had a chance to meet all of the staff yet! I’m John. What’s your name?”

“I’m Alex. Lovely to meet you, John. You and Ross are so adorable, by the way. Adam here is covering for my co-bartender, Lainey, while she takes her break.”

“Oh, with the beautiful red hair?”

“That’s her,” Adam laughs.

“Adam, you angel. I really appreciate how nicely everyone is set up and everything. You and Jamie are so wonderful, and I just love the rest of the staff that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting so much.”

“Well, thank you, John. I’m glad to see everything is to your liking, you deserve it, being such a wonderful person.”

“Aww! You’re too kind. Oh! This is my best man, by the way!” John says, excitedly pulling the blonde forward.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Adam. Co-owner of Crisp,” Adam extends his hand and is met with a particularly great handshake.

“Ah, yes, John gushed about you and Jamie to me over the phone the moment they left your first meeting. Good to meet you, mate. I’m George.”

He gives Adam a lopsided grin that is both goofy beyond belief and oddly charming at the same time.

Adam only realizes that they haven’t dropped hands yet when George jumps suddenly, letting his hand fall, as the shorter, dark-haired man bats his shoulder.

"Stop harassing the staff, G. You said you'd bring me a drink."

"Wow. I was getting to it, you twat," George deadpans before swatting the man back. "Matty, this is Adam, the co-owner of the company who is catering and serving for John and Ross' wedding. He's being lovely enough to cover for one of the bartenders while she's on her break, and I'm sure he's put up with worse customers, so he'll probably take your drink order now," George turns back to Adam and says, "This absolute delight in tight, black clothing is my best mate Matty, which rhymes with bratty, and calling him either works."

Adam bites his lip to stop from laughing, while John is already giggling a bit, and Alex is widely grinning.

George starts grinning when he can tell that Matty has crossed his arms and rolled his eyes dramatically. 

He starts to full-blown giggle when Matty shoves past him to extend a hand to Adam, saying, "It's lovely to meet you, Adam. You and your staff are already doing a lovely job. And those little bun things? So good."

"Those are Adam's specialty," Alex cuts in.

Matty and George both raise their eyebrows, saying, "you made those?"

"Yes, they're just a-"

"He makes them from scratch, all on his own!" Alex says.

"Wow, those things are delicious. Can I hire you to just cater at my flat and bring those?" George laughs.

"Our flat, mate," Matty quips before turning back to Adam. "Do you do… private events?"

John swats Matty's elbow before smiling pleasantly at Adam.

"Jamie did say you put a lot of love into your work," John smiles. "You've already made this such a lovely service for our big day and it's not even until tomorrow!"

"Thank you. What can 'Lex and I get you lads started to drink?"

They look over the drink lists and Adam makes Matty's first as Lex makes John's, Matty chatting with Adam as he goes.

Matty sips his drink before nodding.

"This is delicious, thank you, Adam."

"My absolute pleasure. Figured you might like a little citrus with the sweetness of it all. Seems like your style."

"Cute AND a quick study," Matty winks at him.

Adam flushes a little before saying, "Well, I used to bartend at a club where a lot of newly drinking-age kids celebrate and have no idea what they want. You have to learn to quickly decide what people will want."

"Oh yeah? What club?" Matty chews the corner of his lip a little. 

"Oh… it was just a little place in Soho, probably not around anymore."

Matty's eyebrows shoot up.

"Oh? Maybe something over on uh, oh, like, Old Compton or…?" He shrugs and grins while biting his drink stirrer.

Adam can't help flushing again until he notices George rolling his eyes and it doesn't look playful.

"I-... Nothing like-"

"Matty, for fuck's sake," George finally interrupts the situation. "You came over here telling me not to harass when I was being _introduced_. Now you, quite literally, are harassing the poor bloke trying to work. Piss off and let me order a drink."

Matty just stares at George with his jaw dropped dramatically, and Adam shifts, feeling awkward about being in the middle of an uncomfortable moment between friends.

"So. Stroppy." Matty says before cackling and George grins, shaking his head.

Adam almost visibly sighs in relief. 

Matty turns to shake Adam's hand again, saying, "Well, it was lovely to meet you."

"You as well."

Matty winks before sticking his tongue out at George before he and John walk back across the room gushing about a flower display.

"Ugh, sorry about him. He takes years to learn how to put up with," George laughs.

"It's all good. Could be worse. I've had people's drunk nans talk like that to me at events, and with much heavier flirting that was significantly more uncomfortable. At least your mate isn't twice my age and has a bum foot. Plus, his fashion tastes are a little more this decade."

George laughs as Adam talks, and Adam knows he isn't as funny as he wishes, but he wants to be. Making George laugh is rewarding. 

"Yeah, that's all well and good until you trip over his stupid boots when he leaves them kicked all over the entry way. And, honest- I found a pair of his trousers down between the couch cushions this morning, and he just said, 'Oh, I've missed these!' I bet!"

Adam laughs and, with a sly grin, says, "I bet your best mate and flatmate wouldn't be thrilled that you're slagging him off to the bloke he was just chatting up, though."

"Well, he flirts with everyone, so I'm sure he'll be fine. And anyway, if he were successful, you'd find out firsthand how messy he is, anyway. Well- no, actually, because I make him do some cleaning up, but his room is a different issue."

"Unfortunately for him- though he seems lovely and- what a smooth-talker- he'll do better looking elsewhere. So I won't be finding myself in his messy room," Adam laughs.

"Ah, not a red wine drinker?" 

Adam's brow furrows in confusion. 

"You're a white wine drinker? Like how- John and Ross, they're into red wine. I'm into red and white wine. Matty is into most any drink with alcohol in it… This analogy might be best if we weren't on either side of a bar, right now."

"Oh! Got it. Um, no. I, um, I'm also into both red wine and white wine. Just, not all red wines are my thing. Nor are all white wines."

George smiles, nodding and Adam flushes a bit, realizing he just delved into his sexuality with a stranger at an event he is working.

Adam doesn't know when they both leaned down on elbows across the bar top, very close to one another, but he knows he can feel Alex's eyes on them.

"Would you like a drink, George?" He says, standing upright.

"Absolutely, " George smiles up from where he's still leaned on the counter down at a weird angle, looking up at Adam through his eyelashes before fully standing upright.

Adam swallows and looks down, tapping the lists in front of him.

"Wine? Beer? Cocktail?"

"I'm easy to please, just a beer," George says, looking at the beer list as Adam slides it to him.

After Adam hands him his drink, George gives him another lopsided smile, glancing over at Alex, saying, "Well, nice meeting you lads. I'll see you throughout the night and uh, look forward to tomorrow."

Adam nods and he and Alex both tell George it's nice to meet him and to have fun. 

He throws some cash into the tip jar and gives a little wave before walking off, and Adam is not ready to be left alone with Alex now. 

_Where the hell is Lainey?_

Adam can feel Alex grinning at him. Might as well get it over with. 

"What is it, 'Lex?"

"Nobody made me aware of the fact that my boss's milkshake brings all the boys to the yard. Or your wine does, sorry."

"Piss off."

"That George guy… protecting you from his sassy friend's questions, being so charming, and that smile when he found out you do partake in red wine? Well!"

"You're all good here, right, 'Lex?" He starts to slip away from the bar as he sees Lainey coming back. 

He smiles at her before heading to the back, finding Jamie engrossed in a conversation with Ross and his brother/best man, Rob. 

"Is everything alright?"

"One of the suppliers for tomorrow won't be able to get the centerpieces here on time," Ross says, rubbing his face. "And I'm not excited to tell John."

"Oh, no, the table pieces? The ones you showed us?"

Ross nods, saying, "John helped design them."

Jamie sighs and says, "what if someone went to pick them up?"

"I don't know when anyone would have the opportunity… it's going to be so busy, and I ju-"

"What if I do it?" Adam asks suddenly. He turns to Jamie, saying, "I think if you and 'Lex can do the Roman Challenge night without me when I was in hospital last year, you can manage for a bit without me, with my carefully planned checklists."

"How long do you think it would take him to pick them up?" Jamie asks Ross.

"Oh, I couldn't ask you to do that, it's not even remotely your job. It felt like crossing the line to ask if your team would set them up, now you're going to go get them, too?"

"I don't mind, honestly. We want to help you and John have a lovely, problem-free wedding."

Ross melts a little at that, and Rob says, "I have the address saved in my phone," and goes about sending the information to Adam.

"Oh, this won't be a problem at all Ross, honestly. This is so close! I can just pop over when they open at 9am with my car probably, it's between here and my flat! Th-"

"It's an arrangement for each table, though."

Adam looks back into the hall and says, "Okay, yeah, maybe not my car, it's a Honda Civic."

"Oh! George has an SUV! That would work, yeah?" Rob asks Ross.

"Oh, yeah, he did bring all of that stuff over today…"

Rob starts texting someone, presumably George, then says, "Adam, mate, you're a lifesaver and I will send you the order information from my phone."

"I really don't mind at all."

"Well, we are going to be paying you extra for this, regardless," Ross says, still looking relieved that he doesn't have to cause John any panic.

He phones the shop to let them know the pieces could be picked up in the morning around 9am, and George comes through the doorway, looking at Rob quizzically. 

"What's the emergency?"

Rob explains the whole situation, and George grins at Adam.

"You're too sweet, look at you! Saving the centerpieces and John's sanity. Which saves Ross' and my sanity, too," George winks at him.

Adam flushes and says, "It really is no problem."

"Okay, so where do I pick you up tomorrow morning, then?"

"Oh, you don't have to do all of that, we could just swap cars or something for the-"

"Nonsense, it's a lot to do on your own. Anyway, I'm best man and have an obligation."

"I'm best man, too. What's my obligation in this?" Rob asks.

"You get to pick up Matty for me."

"Fuckin hell, I'd rather go get the pieces."

George laughs before saying, "I live with him, so…"

"So what?"

"So I can assure you he's an absolute nightmare in the mornings and have fun. I'll wake him and get coffee in his hands before I leave, but I can't promise what state he'll be in when you arrive."

Adam chuckles and George turns to him.

"So, want to text me your address, then?"

Adam is so glad Alex isn't here right now.

  
  
  


The rest of the evening is smooth, and nobody mentions the centerpieces to John.

As Adam and Jamie are packing up the van, Adam notices George standing by the corner of the building, smoking a cigarette. 

Jamie notices and says, "That George fellow seems nice, huh?"

Adam sets a box down and levels a look at Jamie.

"What?"

"You talked to 'Lex, then?"

"Ah, I don't have a clue what you mean. Why don't you take a break, huh? Go on, you've barely stopped all day."

Jamie doesn't wait for an answer, just bumps Adam away with his hip.

Adam sighs and slowly walks over to George, who glances up from his phone and gives Adam another lopsided smile, sliding his phone into his pocket.

"Hey, thank you again for offering to help with the centerpieces tomorrow. I really appreciate it."

"You're joking, yeah?" George says. "You are literally offering to do something that's definitely not your job to help some of my absolute favorite people. Of course I'm going to help you help them."

"Yeah, I suppose," Adam says sheepishly. 

George slips his cigarette packet out of his pocket, gesturing to Adam. 

"I usually don't, but… sure. Thanks," Adam shrugs, taking a cigarette from the packet and handing it back to George, who offers his lighter.

Adam lights it and leans against the wall beside George.

"Cheers."

They stand in silence for a moment before George says, "it really is very sweet of you to do this for them."

Adam smiles around the cigarette and says, "they're very sweet people. It's always nice to help out people like that." 

"I bet you've had your share of clients who are absolute monsters, so I guess they're refreshing."

"Eh, it's not as often as you'd expect."

"Well, and you seem to really love what you do, so that must help."

"I do. I like being helpful. And I have a knack for this."

"It suits you. Being the friendly, helpful, organized type. I feel like you give off that vibe without even doing anything."

"Oh, yeah?" Adam smiles.

"Yeah. I think so, mate."

Adam isn't sure how to respond, but George continues.

"You've got this look like you're a really thoughtful, gentlemanly type. Probably why Matty seems to enjoy messing with you, he knows it will make you blush if he's, uh, lewd, I guess. He gets some kind of sick pleasure from messing with the shy, overly sweet types. Like, I bet you've volunteered to dance with nans at receptions and had them asking to marry you off to their granddaughters or whatever."

Adam lets out a laugh at that.

"You're not too far off with that, I suppose."

"Willing to bet you have a lovely girl- or boy- at home waiting for you, yeah?"

"Girl, but she's more the furry, slobbery, begging for table scraps type of girl, so…"

George laughs and Adam can't resist bringing up his phone to show George the picture of Stevie that is his background. 

"Oh, she's a lovely girl. But seriously. How are you single? Some dark secret flaw?"

"I doubt I'm that interesting."

George doesn't respond, and when Adam looks up, he's just staring curiously at Adam.

"What?"

"Shouldn't be selling yourself short. You seem like a catch."

Adam blushes and starts to respond, but just then, Matty and Rob come out the door and walk up, lighting cigarettes. 

"So I hear I'm being ditched for you tomorrow and left with this mug," Matty says to Adam, nodding at Rob.

"If you don't want to be ditched by me, as well, you better start speaking proper 'bout me," Rob laughs.

Matty rolls his eyes and says, "of course, you know I think you're an absolute doll."

"And I think you're an absolute plonker."

They all have a good laugh and Adam notices Jamie waving him over.

"Right, I'll see you lads tomorrow."

"Be round yours at 8, yeah?" George says.

Adam nods and says goodnight before heading back to Jamie, both of them saying goodnight to John and Ross as they come outside.

Adam gives one last wave to everyone before they finish up loading the van and head back to Crisp.

"He's cute," Jamie says after a few moments.

Adam drops his head back and sighs.

"I can tell you think so, so hush."

"I hate you."

"Nah."

He doesn't, but maybe he will start.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you watch Schitt's Creek, you know where I got the inspiration for the 'red and white wine' conversation from.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Adam is coming back inside with Stevie after a quick walk around the block when George pulls up, rolling down his window to wave.

"Sorry, I'm a bit early, I know."

"It's completely fine, George. Just bringing her back from a walk, so I'll be ready to go in a moment."

George shuts off the engine and gets out, coming over.

"Oh, you didn't have to get out, I just need to drop her off with my neighbor and grab my bag."

"Nonsense. I have to meet this precious girl. I adore dogs."

George kneels down right there, letting Stevie jump on him excitedly, kissing his face and squirming excitedly against him.

Adam watches as George coos to Stevie happily and pretends his heart doesn't swell at the sight.

After a few minutes, George stands back up and tells Stevie to sit, which she does, and is rewarded with George calling her a very good girl.

Adam leads Stevie inside and George follows along, commenting that his and Matty's flat is not terribly far from Adam's. 

"Oh, yeah?"

"Honestly, I could walk here. That's how close."

Adam smiles, but acts as if he isn't filing that away as useful information. 

George tells him the nearby cross streets and Adam says, "wow, that's really close."

"Practically neighbors."

Adam knocks on Carly's door and after a moment, she swings it open, cheerily greeting Adam, and then Stevie.

"So, I was thinking of taking them to the dog park for a while later, if that's alright?"

"Absolutely. And thank you so much, again."

"It's my pleasure, Adam, honest."

Adam nods and he kneels down to give Stevie goodbye kisses and says hello to Daisy as she comes to investigate. 

"Oh, hello," Carly says. Adam looks up to see George step forward, extending a hand.

"Hello, I'm George."

"Carly."

"I'm helping Adam a bit this morning for the wedding. Or he's actually helping me, really."

"He's the best man for one of the grooms. There was a bit of a mishap with a delivery, so we're going to pick up the pieces."

"Adam was sweet enough to offer to get table centerpieces for my mates, so the least I could do is offer my bigger vehicle and assistance."

Adam suddenly looks back at George and says, "you have to talk Ross out of paying me more for that, by the way. I want to help, and also, you're driving-"

"I have to do no such thing," George grins, waving him off as he pets Daisy.

"That sounds like Adam. He's always so sweet and helpful, but refuses to take credit for it!"

Adam sheepishly shrugs, and George laughs.

"Yeah, I only met him yesterday and I already noticed that."

Carly laughs and says, "well, I should let you two be off."

"Thank you again, Carly."

"Of course. Nice to meet you George. Have fun!"

They say goodbye and go down the hall to Adam's door and he opens it quickly, stepping in and letting George in.

"I'll just be one minute."

He hurries to his room, grabbing his bag and zipping it up, and switching the light off.

When he comes back out, he sees George stood by the couch, looking at some photos on the wall.

Adam can't help noticing how good George looks today.

He's in a loose, thin white t shirt and black ripped up jeans with a black flat-bill hat pulled over his messy hair.

Adam lets his eyes trail over George's tattoos for a moment before clearing his throat.

"Ready."

George turns and smiles.

"This is a nice place. Like your pictures."

"Thanks."

Adam tries to not be awkward, but he's not certain he is succeeding. 

George smiles and says, "Carly seems nice."

"Oh, she's lovely. She offered to watch Stevie for me when I'm away for a longer period. It probably keeps Daisy more occupied during the day while Carly's working, so…"

"Mm. She's pretty, too."

"Yep."

There's a pause for a moment before George cocks an eyebrow at Adam.

"Oh. Um, did you want me to, uh, put in a good word for you?"

George laughs loud and kind of squeaky.

"No! No, you- have YOU thought about asking her out?"

"Erm. Well, we went on some dates, actually. Almost a year ago, when I first moved here."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, we, uh. Didn't quite click. She's great, I just… I don't know. She said she liked me fine, but that was it and I told her I felt the same, so we decided to just be friends."

George looks at Adam suspiciously. 

"What?"

"Was that true? That you felt the same?"

"Yeah. It just didn't really seem like anything was really developing. I could tell she wasn't feeling it either."

"Huh," George looks around, nodding slightly.

"What now?"

George narrows his eyes a bit at Adam.

"Sex not great?" He says quietly.

"What?"

"It's none of my business, I wasn't going to ask, it's just th-"

"No, we didn't-" Adam shifts. "It didn't even get there. That's how little we both wound up being into each other like that."

George nods, looking away.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be so intrusive. I should mind my business."

"It-" Adam let's his tense shoulders drop, not realizing how defensive he'd gotten. "It's fine. It's just… one of those things that people don't want to buy that we genuinely didn't have a romantic interest in each other and it was that simple. I… I feel like it should be awkward, but it's not, shockingly. She's easy to be around, I guess. And our dogs like playing together, so that's nice."

George watches Adam carefully as he speaks.

After a beat, Adam adds, "we kissed a bit, but it didn't get, like, heated or anything. Just, after the second date, we kissed a bit before saying goodnight. Kind of made me realize it wasn't what I wanted, because, I mean, it was nice. She's not a bad kisser or anything. But it…."

"Didn't make you feel anything?"

Adam meets George's eyes again and says, "yeah. After two more dates, she said the same thing and we agreed being friends would be more suitable for us. It was that easy."

George gives a small smile and says, "sounds easy."

Adam smiles back and says, "wish it always were that easy."

George's eyes widen a bit and he says, "yeah, that'd be nice, but it's usually a right mess, innit?"

Adam chuckles and says, "absolutely."

George moves toward Adam, saying, "let's not recount horror stories for now. Today's about love! Let's go get my mates married, yeah?"

Adam laughs as George claps him on the shoulder and they make for the door.

They get down to the car and George surprises Adam by opening the passenger door for him.

When Adam looks at him, he just gets that same lopsided smile.

Adam decides then that George has the most unusual, but unique and lovely smile. 

He shakes that thought away, and lets the corner of his mouth tick up at George before climbing into the passenger seat.

George shuts the door before walking around and getting in the driver's side.

Adam watches him as he starts the truck and buckles up, checking his mirrors quickly before looking over at Adam.

"You r- what?"

Adam sucks his lips in, smiling, before shaking his head.

"Nothing."

Adam buckles his seatbelt, sets his bag between his feet, and adjusts his jacket before realizing George is just staring at him.

He slowly meets his eyes and immediately realizes it was a mistake to do so.

George is staring at him with this soft, but serious look, the corner of his mouth curled up slightly, and Adam suddenly feels like breathing is a bit of a struggle now.

"Adam…" George's voice comes out so soft it's almost like a breath.

He wets his lips, and Adam can't help it. His eyes dart to George's mouth for a moment before meeting his eyes again, but it's worse than before. They're darker somehow.

Adam isn't sure how much time passes, but it feels like at least an hour before George smiles a tiny smile, looking away, and turning back to face forward. He shifts gears and checks his mirrors quickly before pulling onto the street.

_What just happened?! What was that?!_

George reaches down to turn the radio up just a bit, drumming along on the steering wheel with his thumbs, mouthing the words as his eyes dart up at street names.

Adam can't look away from him or even form thoughts, just entirely blindsided by what just happened.

But as he watches George's mouth moving, pads of his thumbs tapping away, and the way his jaw moves as he tips his head up, Adam realizes that George really is absolutely beautiful, and this little crush just hit Adam like a freight train over the last 20 minutes. 

_It's way too early for a tall glass of red wine._

  
  
  


By the time they arrive at the shop, Adam has finally gotten his brain back under control. 

"How do we still have 10 minutes before they actually open?" George mutters.

Adam can't believe they aren't insanely late.

"Well… smoke?"

"Yes, please," Adam says quietly, not looking up from his lap.

George opens both of their windows and pulls two cigarettes from his packet.

Adam starts to lift a hand to accept, ready to thank George, but stops when George pops both in his mouth, lighting them.

He quickly hands one over to Adam, then exhales out the window.

"Thank you…" Adam takes a drag, turning away to exhale, and he is so fucking lost right now. He feels like he just woke up in the middle of the ocean in pool floaties with nothing else.

He can't remember the last time he even had a crush on anyone, or if there was ever a time it developed this quickly. He's never been this blindsided by anyone before. At least he's pretty confident George at least kind of fancies him. That's all he has to go on, really. The rest of this is highly confusing. That moment earlier was very intense, and Adam fully believed they were about to kiss, even if he's not sure he was ready for that, but then it suddenly didn't happen, and George shifted so suddenly, Adam thought maybe he had something gross on his face. He even checked the mirror.

Adam isn't sure what to make of that at all. He's rarely confident around others, unless it's work, so after that, he's definitely feeling very small and unsure.

He feels watched and turns to George slowly.

"Sorry."

Adam's eyebrows go up.

"If I made you uncomfortable. I get the feeling not a lot of people do things for you. You do things for others, yeah? Wanted to be able to change that. At least for today," George shrugs, looking back out his window.

Adam doesn't look at the spot behind George's jaw, just under his ear.

"Is that why you opened my door and lit my cigarette?"

George nods, taking a drag and Adam absolutely does not watch George's cheeks slightly hollow.

Adam sets his mouth and thinks, _fuck it. If this goes badly, I literally don't have to see him after today_.

"So what was that in between, though?"

George turns to him with an unreadable expression. 

"What was what?"

"You know what I mean."

George starts to say something, but just stops and looks down.

"I'm sorry about that, too. That was unfair."

Adam sighs.

"So, what? Were you just… having a laugh, trying to see if you could get a rise out of me by acting like that, or…?"

George sighs and runs his fingers through his messy hair. Adam tracks the movement.

"I thought you said that was Matty's game, but it's both of you?"

"No! Okay, no," George finally looks back at Adam and chews his lip before saying, "no, look. I thought about just going ahead and… but I don't think that impulsive decision would have wound up being a good idea. You don't seem like the type to, uh, appreciate that kind of pushy, rushed-"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"If I had started kissing you earlier. I think that would have been a little… I don't know. Mean."

Adam chews his lips before looking away and out the windshield. 

"So. I'm sorry."

He nods and takes a drag, exhaling out the window before just opening the door and getting out.

He can hear George sigh and follow, but stops to restart the truck to roll the windows up.

Adam's thoughts swirl around as he leans against the truck.

He would have liked George snogging him, honestly. But George is right. Adam likes to take his time and this would've been too sudden and rushed. He'd assume George was either doing what he said Matty does- toy with people- or that he was just interested in Adam physically, and Adam hasn't really ever been one for one night stands or casual sex.

_It would have been mean? Why would it be mean?_

Because George would have been teasing Adam. Leading him on. He just wanted to see if he could, it's not because he actually would want to.

Adam realizes George knew exactly how he looked at Adam earlier, and what the effect would be, how Adam would respond. He's probably practiced that shit.

_It was a challenge. He's not actually interested. Oh, my god. What if it was literally a challenge between him and Matty? Oh..._

Adam chews his lip and takes a last drag before stubbing out the cigarette on the side of the bin before throwing it in.

George comes around the side of the truck, following suit with his cigarette and carefully looks at Adam. 

"I am really sorry. Um. Are we okay? Mates?"

Adam inhales sharply, meeting George's eyes, and gives him a small smile. 

"Mates."

George hesitantly smiles back and they're interrupted by the shop door unlocking and swinging open.

"Here for the centerpieces? For MacDonald?"

"Yes, I've got the invoice on my phone," Adam says, walking toward the door.

He starts to follow the man inside, holding the door open for George, only to realize he isn't following him. He looks to see George still standing right where he just walked away from, back to the shop, head down.

"George?"

He turns and looks at Adam, face quickly changing from him chewing on his lip to a big smile, and he says, "yep, sorry, mate."

Joining Adam and heading inside, leaving Adam to stand in the doorway confused.

_What was that? That big, phony smile?_

He quickly gets wrapped up in he and George loading the centerpieces into the truck, but doesn't miss the way George's expression looks distant and chilly when he doesn't think anyone is looking at him.


	3. Chapter 3

As they drive to the venue, George has the radio a little louder and is again, drumming along and mumbling the words more enthusiastically. 

Adam wants to break the slight tension, but he's the last person to know how to make things less awkward. 

George suddenly turns the music down and asks, "you play any instruments?"

Adam smiles.

_Of course he would pick the easiest topic for me to talk about._

"Yeah, a few. Mostly guitar. Some various string instruments. And uh, piano."

"Nice."

"I take it you're a drummer?"

George looks over with a silly smirk on his face.

"What could've possibly gave me away?"

Adam smiles, and says, "well, there WAS the drumming, but…"

George huffs out a little laugh before saying, "so, yeah, drummer. But I can actually play a few things. A little guitar, bass, piano. Not great at guitar or bass, though. I studied music production in uni, so I had to learn a few basic things."

"Mm. I mostly am good at guitar."

George turns toward Adam in slight surprise. 

"Look at you! Actually giving yourself an almost compliment!"

George breaks out in a big grin as Adam chuckles sheepishly. 

"Cherish the moment, it's rare."

"I feel like I should take a picture to commemorate the occasion."

Adam laughs and they spend the rest of the drive talking about music, and he is pleasantly surprised by George seeming to have great technical knowledge. 

When they arrive, Adam realizes that's the most comfortable he has felt around a near stranger in a long time.

George seems to have no trouble making Adam feel comfortable, even with the earlier discomfort that has simply slid away.

As they begin unloading the centerpieces, which George insists on helping with, Adam notices how George is going out of his way to be extremely chummy and also to completely avoid physical contact with Adam at all.

_He must feel kind of guilty about earlier, and be really working on setting respectable boundaries._

Adam doesn't know how to take that, but he goes along with it.

George is joking around about being very dramatic about the placement of the centerpieces, when a girl comes rushing over to them.

"Oh, George. Thank god, John is in a state."

"What? Abby what's wrong?"

"His nerves are getting to him."

"He's not, like, getting cold feet or anything, is he?"

"No, but he's working himself up something terrible. Please, you're well good at calming him down," she grabs George's elbow, gently pulling him.

George looks at Adam, who waves him on, and George hands him his keys to lock the truck after unloading the remaining centerpieces. 

Adam smiles, nodding, and George gives him one last look, that same lopsided smile, before walking off with Abby.

He pretends not to notice Abby glance back and mouth, 'he's cute' to George, who ducks his head, causing her to playfully swat his arm.

Adam tries to bite back a smile, but is caught when Alex comes up and starts setting up the rest of the table.

"You look cheery. Nice morning with George?"

"Pretty nice, yeah. Better company than you lot. He's funnier and has better taste in music."

Alex scowls, clearly not amused that teasing Adam isn't going to plan.

Adam inwardly fits pumps as that causes Alex to change the subject. 

They finish the tables and Adam goes with Alex to start setting up the bar.

After a while, Matty comes strolling out of the groom's room, looking disgruntled and disheveled, hair messier than yesterday. His shirt is untucked from his trousers, and mostly buttoned, revealing a chest tattoo, and his tie is draped around his shoulders.

"Well, good morning, sunshine," Adam quips.

"No. Don't be evil to me, as well. Rob was mean enough."

"Aw, well, we have a coffee bar set up temporarily, if you'd like me to make you something strong? I was a barista for 6 months, so I am okay at this, at least."

Matty smiles blissfully and says, "you are a dear thing, and officially my favorite person here now."

Adam laughs, almost shocked at the juxtaposition of this Matty versus the flirty, cheeky Matty he met last night. 

Matty puts his elbows on the bar, resting his head in his hands while he chats to Adam who makes him a strong latte.

George comes out of the other groom's room, wearing nice trousers, a button up that is open over his undershirt, fluttering around as he briskly makes his way to the bar, tie wrapped around his hand, has lost his hat, and is just in socks.

He smiles tightly at Adam and says, "hey, so can I ask for three really strong coffees?"

"You can definitely ask for that. Are you asking for that?" Adam smirks and Matty giggles as Adam pushes his latte toward him. "Do you need to ask for shoes, also? Because I hate to tell you that I don't have shoes over here. Just coffee.

"Yeah, thanks so much. Haven't found my shoes back yet, " George says, seeming flustered.

Adam shifts gears as he realizes that George isn't interested in the banter.

"Well, I just made Matty a pretty strong latte, want the same?"

"That's perfect, mate, thank you."

"Matty, um, you seem hungover," Adam gently says.

"No, this is how he always is in the morning," George says, messing with the tie in his hand.

"S'true," Matty nods solemnly. "Also, I did not like this morning. Rob is not nearly as lovely as you. I missed my George."

"It'll make you appreciate me more," George says quickly, shifting his feet and tapping his fingers on his own shoulder.

Matty throws a hand up and says, "do I not appreciate you?"

George goes completely still, leveling Matty with a serious look, saying, "Uh, well yesterday morning, you called me a 'stupid fucking grizzly witch idiot', and I still don't even know what that means at all. And I'm honestly scared to ask."

Adam stops making the lattes for a second to cup his hand over his mouth to hold back his laughter. 

"Well. I also thanked you for coffee."

"Yeah, you said, 'thanks for the coffee, you stupid fucking grizzly witch idiot'."

Adam can't hold back the laughter shaking him at this point.

"I am not a morning person," Matty says to Adam.

"Sounds like it."

"And George, once he's up in the morning, he's, like, fully awake, so it's a bit jarring."

"I'm the same way, but I sympathize with you not liking mornings, Matty."

"Yeah, I woke him at about 11am yesterday, so it was barely morning anymore," George says.

Adam smiles and says, "I don't remember the last time I ever slept that late."

"Even on days off?" Matty says incredulously. 

"I usually sleep in until 9am on days off."

"Ew. That is absolutely not 'sleeping in', mate."

Adam glances at George and smiles at him.

He finishes the coffees and asks George if he needs lids, and he smiles, saying, "that'd be great, yeah."

Adam pops the lids on and says, "right, all set. Hope everything is going okay."

"Cheers, thank you so much."

He throws some money in the tip jar and collects the cups, hurrying off back to John's room.

Matty scoffs and says, "must be mad in there."

"A girl, Abby, grabbed George when we got here with the centerpieces to tell him that John was having some trouble."

"Oh?"

"His nerves getting him worked up? I'm sure it's fine. John and Ross seem to have a very lovely relationship. Probably just wedding day jitters."

"Hm. Yeah, they've been together for… 7ish years now. So getting married is more a formality than anything. Can't imagine being scared 'bout marrying the person you're legally considered partners with by the government, but then again, I have anxiety, so, yeah, I probably would be shitting myself, too."

Adam shrugs.

He'd worked so many weddings and seen worse, honestly- cold feet is a real thing- but he couldn't really picture himself getting married. He's sure he will someday, but who really knows. He's weirdly fine with the idea that he might not. As long as he gets to be madly in love with someone who is madly in love with him and understands him, that won't break his heart, he'll be perfectly happy. Married or not. 

Matty finally drags himself up from where he's slumped, tipping the coffee in Adam's direction. 

"Thanks for this, mate. I better get back in there," Matty starts to walk away, then stops, pointing at the tip jar. "I actually don't have a clue where my wallet is currently, but I promise I will put money in there when I find it."

Adam smiles and says, "Matty, you're part of the wedding party, you don't need to tip. And George didn't need to tip, especially enough to cover 4 coffees, but he did."

"So George covered me? Great. Thanks again, luv," Matty calls over his shoulder as he sort of struts away.

It's become abundantly clear that everyone involved in this wedding is very insistent on making sure Adam and Jamie- and probably everyone working the event- make as much money as possible.

Alex comes over to the coffee bar and Adam decides that since everything is under control for now, he is going to make himself a coffee and stroll around to check on things, maybe take a peek at the courtyard to see the set up for the ceremony. 

When he finishes making his coffee, he notices that George's tie is sitting beside the tip jar.

Adam smiles, shaking his head.

He picks it up and says to Alex, "think the best man might need this?"

"Who, George?" Alex wiggles his eyebrows at Adam.

Adam just rolls his eyes.

"Better hurry and go give it to him, he might start panicking trying to find it. You could be his hero," Alex says, doing a bad, weird impression of Enrique Iglesias.

Adam shakes his head and turns on his heel.

"Wait, Adam," Alex stops Adam in his tracks.

"Yes?"

"Who dropped this tenner in here?"

Adam turns to see Alex fish the note out of the tip jar.

"Oh! There's two!"

Adam's eyes widen.

_Did George mean to do that, or are they just stuck together?_

"Alex, are they stuck together, like it was an accident? Or does it look like-"

"They're definitely separate. One's wonky, like curled and crumpled under the other. Just sort of hidden."

Adam closes his eyes.

"I already thought the £10 was too much. He only grabbed three coffees, and he's part of the wedding party, traditionally, we give them whatever with no expectations of tips. What…"

"Soooo, George gave you this?"

"Us. He gave us this. In the tip jar. If it was for me, specifically, he would've handed it to me."

Alex's lips tuck into his mouth as he tries to bite back a smile, dropping the money back into the jar.

"Well, that is very generous and sweet and thoughtful of him. What a lovely chap."

Adam turns on his heel again and stalks toward John's room.

As he's about to knock, the door swings open and George almost crashes right into him.

"Oh! Sorry, mate. In a hurry and wasn't looking."

"Was it because you were looking for this?"

Adam holds up his tie and George grins, taking it gently.

He looks over his shoulder and yells, "Adam to the rescue again!"

"He found your tie?" John's voice comes from inside the room before the door opens more and he steps into view.

He looks fantastic, but definitely like he recently was crying.

"He left it on the bar counter when he came to grab coffees."

"Oh, my gosh, thank you so much for these, by the way. I definitely needed it," John says, walking back over to where his coffee was and taking a sip.

Adam looks at George and quietly says, "well, I have to hope they were £20-tip good."

George blushes and looks down before turning and walking to the corner of the room and setting his tie down by his coffee.

Adam gives a wave to the other two groom's-maids. He thinks John said their names were Chelsea and Becca.

"Adam, come in for a moment," Abby pipes up, looking slyly at George for just a second before looking back at Adam with innocence. 

"Oh, I'd love to, but I should probably get back out there."

John looks up with dread written all over his face.

"Oh no. Are things going wrong out there?"

Adam's eyes widen and he shakes his head. 

"No! No, everything is going great, actually!" He says, coming to sit next to John, setting his coffee down and taking John's hands, instinctively doing the circle-rubbing trick with his thumbs that his mum taught him to help calm people. "Everything is running so smoothly, honest. Not a single stressed face, and that's not because anyone is slacking. Everything is set up wonderfully already."

"You're sure? It's not like the centerpieces?"

Adam looks at George, who whips around and comes over, asking, "who told you?"

John smiles and says, "you two are so dear. That was such a lovely thing you did, Adam," John says, squeezing his hands, and looking into Adam's eyes so earnestly, Adam almost has to look away, but John looks up at George, continuing, "he has to help, he's my best man. But you…. You just did that because you're a sweetheart. Thank you."

"I- You're welcome."

"I got so worked up earlier," John says, and he and Adam both say, "Wedding day nerves," at the same time before chuckling.

"But it's going to be lovely, isn't it?" John asks.

"Of course, John. There's almost no scenario where I would say 'no' to someone asking me that question right before their wedding, but right now I can say it without any acting on my part. You and Ross are lovely. You're surrounded by lovely friends and family. I've worked weddings with the florist you hired, and can tell you that they're going to do a stunning job. The venue is perfect, with that gorgeous garden and courtyard where you're going to be marrying Ross. But none of that matters, everyone will be looking at the two of you. And you both already look amazing, so you're going to look even better when you're standing up in front of everyone, radiating your love for each other and making each other those promises."

John sniffles, and Adam realizes he got a bit too soppy.

He reaches over to grab a tissue and hand it to John.

Abby holds her hand out, and Adam realizes she's crying a bit, too.

He smiles and hands her a tissue.

The other two girls reach for tissues, as well.

Then George's hand comes into view and Adam looks up at him as George bites his lip and looks away a bit, sniffling, eyes a bit watery.

Adam chuckles gently before handing him a tissue, too.

"That was fuckin beautiful, mate. You got us all sobbing, cheers."

John huffs out a laugh at that.

"That was very sweet, Adam. I really appreciate that," John smiles.

  
  
  


After a bit, he does see himself out of the room, confirming the other girls' names are Chelsea and Brita, promising to bring them champagne flutes in an hour or so for the bottle John's parents brought him.

As he's leaving the room, Matty and Rob almost bump into him, Rob leaning into the room and saying, "John, stay in here, yeah? Ross is out and about for a bit. Still no issues, though. He's just feeling cooped up in the room and wants to peek at everything," as Matty picks a piece of John's hair off of Adam's shirt.

"Shouldn't have gone in there, mate. John's hair will get you if you get too close," Matty smiles.

Rob says something else to John and turns back to Matty and Adam.

"Okay," John calls.

"We'll text you or G when he's back in there, in case you want to do the same," Matty calls to him.

George suddenly comes to the door, muttering something quiet to Matty, who laughs as George grins. 

He hands him something small and Matty says something, making George quickly glance at Adam before leaning his head down to mutter something else. He's then joined by John at the door who hands a wrapped gift to Rob, him handing another back.

"Aw! Your gift from Ross?" George smiles at John.

He nods and Rob says, "I'm so excited for you to see it. I'll go put his in our room. See you, lads."

Adam smiles, starting to head off, and catches George looking at him.

Matty and Rob head back to Ross's room, and George steps out to gently squeeze Adam's shoulder and say, "seriously, that was so lovely what you said in there. Thank you for saying all of that to him. It was important for him to hear."

"Outsider perspective can be quite effective. But also, I meant it."

George smiles and draws Adam into a quick hug before going back into the room and closing the door with a last smile to Adam.


	4. Chapter 4

After a while, he does make his way out to the courtyard, and melts at how beautiful it is. It's simple, not flashy and over the top, but lovely.

He sips his coffee as Jamie walks up with Penelope, the wedding planner.

"Well, this is gorgeous and very well put together, so, well done you," Adam says, smiling at Penelope. 

"Thank you, Adam. And I heard about the centerpieces from John's best man. Said you were immediately ready to help them with that issue and it went so smoothly, John still doesn't even know anything went awry! I didn't even know there was an issue until an hour ago, and it's literally my job! Thank you so much for offering to do that. It would've been another thing on my list for the day, otherwise- which, that's expected to happen with this job- but you gave me one less thing to do, or even worry about, and I had to make sure to thank you for that, dear."

"Oh," Adam blushes and says, "well, I'm just really glad I was able to help. And, it was no trouble at all for George and I to do."

She gives his arm a squeeze and says, "well, I still think you're a doll for doing it, and appreciate it very much."

Someone calls her name and she excuses herself to hurry over to the ceremony area.

Jamie smiles at him, saying, "I'm going to go out to my car real quick and make a call."

"Okay. I'm going to head back inside."

"Adam?"

"Hmm?"

"I appreciate you helping them out. You did a really nice thing, mate."

Adam smiles and Jamie heads off to the parking lot as Adam makes his way back inside. 

He looks around and smiles at Paul, who is wheeling a cart.

"Hey, Paul. Taking that to storage?" 

"Yep. How's it going, boss?" 

"Seems to be going good, yeah?"

"Without a hitch so far today. Getting the centerpieces seemed to go alright, huh?"

"Yep. I'll take that. Why don't you start rotating breaks?"

"Oh, sure. I'll probably actually go cover Sarah and tell her to go first. Her mum's having surgery today, gives her a chance to call before the surgery starts."

"That's really thoughtful and kind, Paul. Thank you. And also, thank you for remembering because I had forgotten that was today."

"You remember too much, you're allowed to forget some stuff."

Paul heads off in Sarah's direction as she's handing Ross' mum a scone from the breakfast bar they set up for the wedding party.

Adam grabs the cart and begins wheeling it to the back. He makes sure to put it sort of out of the way as best as possible, but as he's scooting it further back, the light above him flickers. He looks around for light bulbs, since this is the room they'd be in. He sees a box labeled 'bulbs' and, with the hopes they aren't flower-related, goes to reach for the box right as the light fizzles out.

"Shit."

Adam gets his phone out and turns on the flashlight, setting the phone on a shelf. 

He bumps a box of tealight candles off the shelf on accident and sighs, grabbing the 'bulbs' box and setting it down before shining his light around to make sure he picks up all of the little candles.

As he's reaching under a shelf for the last couple that rolled under there, (kneeling on the rag from his pocket so he doesn't get his trousers dirty, thank you) the door to the storage room swings open and the person stops short.

"Well. Um…"

Adam finally grabs the last two candles and rights himself, turning to see who came in.

The door falls shut behind George and he giggles a bit.

_ Of course it would be George. Of course. _

Adam stands up and sets the candles back in the box, returning it to the shelf before crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows at George. 

"What?"

"Well, while that WAS a nice view to walk in on, what are you doing in here, crawling around on the floor in the dark?"

"You answered your own question. What I'm doing in here is crawling around on the floor in the dark."

George snorts and says, "cheeky. Why, though? You know there's a light, yeah?"

Adam lets him pull the light cord a few times before saying, "it went out while I was putting the cart away, so I was trying to get the box of bulbs, and knocked over the tealights, they went rolling about."

"Tealights?"

"Little candles. Wait, what was the nice view?"

George tries biting back a grin, and Adam thinks back to exactly what he was doing when George walked in. 

"Ohhhhhh. Because I was knelt down, leaning forward to reach under the shelf with my arse to the door. Got it. You're being filthy about it, right."

George giggles and says, "it really was a nice view, though. Maybe I could get a second viewing?"

He teasingly starts trying to move so he can check out Adam's backside, kind of pulling Adam's arm to turn him slightly.

Adam flushes and swats at George, laughing as he says, "stop, you twat. I thought I might not get sexually harassed at a wedding for a change?!"

George stops, laughing, and says, "oh, wait til Matty gets drunk at the reception. He thinks you're pretty cute, so…" he trails off, brows raising a bit.

Adam notices suddenly that now George and him are alone, standing very close in a dark room only slightly illuminated by his phone, and George's hands are still on his wrist and shoulder.

He looks at George, who's still giggling, saying something about Matty getting handsy.

_ Seriously, that laugh is adorable. _

Adam suddenly clears his throat, moving his arm so George's hands fall back to his sides.

"George, I should get this light changed and get back out there."

George stops, smiling faltering, and says, "right. Yeah, sorry. I just came in here to see if there was a small step stool or something. Billie is trying to do all of our hair, but she's a full foot shorter than us."

Adam reaches up to unscrew the dead lightbulb, using his phone to see into the box of bulbs.

He finds a pack of what seems to match, and plucks one out, reaching up to screw the bulb in, though he sort of steps weird as he gets suddenly blinded by the light coming back on. He stumbles a step forward, and George instinctively puts his hands on Adam's sides, steadying him.

"Whoa. Alright?"

Adam can't handle how cheesy, romance film this is.

He puts his hands over George's hands, looking at him carefully. 

_ Fuck it. At this point? Just fuck it. _

Adam pulls George's wrists so he steps closer, and glances at George's mouth before meeting his eyes again. 

"Yeah?" George breathes out.

"Yeah. I mean, this is the least professional thing I've ever done, but-"

"I won't tell," George murmurs, leaning to close the gap between them.

George's lips meet Adam's, who sighs a little as the blonde's arms snake around him, one hand moving up between Adam's shoulder blades and the other low on his back, pulling him closer.

Adam's hands slide up George's arms as he deepens the kiss, and he lets one arm go around the back of George's shoulders, the other hand going up to cup George's jaw.

George tastes like coffee and cigarettes and it's weirdly nice. And he's a very good kisser. 

He kisses Adam slow and strong, but gentle at the same time, definitely leading the kiss, and giving enough that Adam could pull away at any moment if he wanted to.

He doesn't want to.

Adam fully melts into it.

Eventually, they do break apart and George keeps close, barely opening his eyes to look at Adam before pressing one last gentle kiss to his lips and murmuring, "for the record, I think you're pretty cute, too. I think you're fucking gorgeous."

Adam smiles and says, "you're fucking beautiful. And I really did want you to kiss me earlier, I just…" he looks down and chews his lip.

"Don't really do hookups?"

"Yeah."

"Good news: I'm not interested in just hooking up with you. Though, THAT would be unprofessional, if we did that in here," George ends with a laugh. "No. I, um. I quite like you. I'd like to see you again, you know, when you're not working."

Adam meets George's eyes again and says, "yeah?"

George nods and presses another kiss to the corner of his mouth.

"Absolutely."

They stand in silence for a bit before George says, "I kind of thought I fucked up too much earlier. So this is relieving. I didn't really voice what I meant well at all. And, um. I didn't want you to think I was just toying with you."

Adam smiles.

"So this wasn't a bet or something with Matty to see who could snog me?"

George frowns.

"Sorry, I just-"

"It absolutely wasn't. I wouldn't do that."

"Okay…. For the record, Matty would never have won that."

George smiles again.

"I gathered that you were at least fairly into me."

"I'm sure you did," Adam laughs, blushing.

"Fuckin hell, you're so cute."

Adam buries his face against George's shoulder to hide his blushing.

"Shut up. You're fit as hell, George. "

George chuckles and runs his fingers up Adam's back gently.

"This is so nice, but we need to get back to what we were doing soon, people might talk."

_ People like Alex.  _

"They can if they want…"

"Pretty sure they all already have been, right?"

George pauses and says, "I wish you weren't working this. I'd love to invite you to be my date to the wedding, now that we're on the same page."

Adam smiles at that and says, "that WOULD be cute."

"So cute."

They pull apart and smile at each other.

"I AM going to get a dance with you at the reception, though," George says, biting back a smile.

"Nooooo. No."

"Hush up. Yes, I absolutely am."

George starts to head to the door, and Adam smiles.

"George?"

He stops and turns back to Adam, who taps a step stool with his shoe.

George bites his lip and comes to pick it up, grumbling, "distracting me with your arse and snogging so I forgot what I even came in here for…"

Adam laughs and can't help enjoying getting to make George a little flustered for a change.

He even looks like he might be blushing as he goes out the door.

Adam can't stop smiling as he goes about putting the box back and grabbing his phone, turning the flashlight off.

He smooths out his shirt, messing with the collar and cuffs before clearing his throat and opening the door to go back out and work. 

Busying himself with menial tasks and checking in with everyone distracts him for a while until Alex comes back to join Jamie while he covers Lainey at the bar, and interrupts Jamie and Adam's conversation by setting the case of rocks glasses down and saying,"Jamie, what's this?"

"What's what?"

"This!" Alex says, cupping Adam's face and squeezing a few times before Adam smacks him away. "He is glowing! More smiley than I've ever seen him!"

Jamie bites back a smile as Adam rolls his eyes.

"So, are you going to ask George to dance with you at the reception?" Jamie grins.

"Don't join in on his antics!" Adam says, pointing at Alex, who is cackling.

Adam wants to smack them both.

"For your information, he has expressed an interest in asking me for a dance later, so… maybe."

"Piss off, maybe! You're going to dance with him, you twat."

Adam can't help smiling.

"You CLEARLY want to. So you'd better."

"It's unprofessional. What would the grooms' parents think?"

"Considering what John's parents were saying over here, they'd love it."

Adam looks at Jamie.

"What?"

"They were going on about you, and how sweet you are, and… well, I guess George hasn't stopped talking about you to John after this morning. Apparently, you said something very sweet to John that made everyone in his party tear up and it made John feel much more confident and happy? I'm just repeating what they said," Jamie shrugs.

Adam tries to tame his uncontrollable smile, but fails.

"So you should for sure dance with George later. You like him, he likes you, you deserve it."

Adam picks at the button on his sleeve cuff.

"Alright, yeah. I do want to…"

"Ugh, you're disgustingly adorable," Alex says. 


	5. Chapter 5

There's just a half an hour before the ceremony starts, and once it begins, there will only be roughly an hour of time with nobody but the Crisp team inside.

Adam is shockingly bored.

Everything is ready to go, guests are being taken care of, Penelope has told him everything is ahead of schedule. There is nothing for him to do right now.

He feels his phone buzz and slips it out of his pocket.

'Come round th back of th bldg. Last cig fr a bit.'

Adam smiles and makes his way outside.

He finds George, Matty, Ross, and Rob standing on the porch behind the building, next to some random chairs and tables stacked by a big generator and some kind of tank.

George turns to see Adam coming and Adam almost stops in his tracks.

_ Jesus, he cleans up nice. _

He's in his white button up, tie in a French knot, suspenders, trousers, and black brogues, everything looking immaculate. All of them match with stone gray jackets and pants, though Ross, Rob, and Matty have green ties and pocket squares in their jackets while George has blue, though his jacket with his blue pocket square is hanging from a hook near where they're standing.

Abby comes out of the door beside Ross, and Adam sees her dress is blue as well.

Adam is assuming Ross's party is going to have green accents while John's is blue.

George's hair is done to one side and back into a loose bun, and he just overall looks stunning.

Adam smiles and stops beside him.

Abby lights her cigarette, and says, "these lads clean up pretty nice, don't they, Adam?"

Adam nods, saying, "handsome bunch. You look better than all of us combined, though."

She waves him off and says, "I'd never get this done up without someone doing it for me. Bless Billie for being a miracle-worker."

Matty and Rob nod enthusiastically. 

"She tamed my hair and made it actually look decent, which is nearly impossible," Matty says as he touches the bun most of his hair is pulled back into.

Adam smiles and says, "it looks good. You all look very lovely."

He sneaks a glance at George, who is smiling at him around his cigarette. 

George offers Adam a cigarette, lighting it for him, rather than handing the lighter over.

Ross mutters something that sounds suspiciously like 'that's cute'.

Adam catches sly grins exchanged between Matty and Abby and sighs in fake exasperation.

"So they all know, I take it?"

George blushes and toes at the gap between the wood slats of the porch sheepishly.

"Sorry."

Adam smiles and bumps his shoulder against George's. 

"I'm okay with it. More than okay."

"Awwwww," Ross and Rob dramatically coo.

"But it's still your big day," Adam says, pointing at Ross. "So, early congratulations, and I want nothing more than for you and John to have the most amazing and beautiful ceremony possible. You're both so lovely and deserve the best-"

"No! I heard how you got everyone in John's room sniffling earlier, mate," Ross laughs. "You and your romantic, soppy speeches…"

"Yeah, let us do that later for our speeches," George laughs, motioning between him and Rob.

"I can't wait to hear what wonderful speeches you both have."

"We wrote them together, so we know how much we're going to make everyone laugh and then cry."

"They already made Matty and me start bawling when they practiced for us," Abby says.

"I always cry at weddings anyway, but I'm going to be a right mess today," Matty says.

Ross smiles and hooks an arm around Matty's shoulders, patting his shoulder.

"Not as bad as John, I bet," George smiles.

"Oh god, no. And he's going to get me going, so we're both fucked," Ross says.

Adam smiles and Matty starts excitedly telling Abby about something he never finished telling her earlier, and Ross starts pointing out something in the distance to Rob.

As Adam is just sort of spacing out, looking at the treeline of the garden, he feels a few fingers gently curl around his.

He looks at George, who is looking off in the distance too, then looks down at the middle, ring, and pinky fingers George has loosely hooked around his ring and pinky fingers.

Adam bites his lip, smiling, and looks back up at George, who smiles slowly.

"Is this alright?" He says so softly Adam almost misses it, and turns to meet Adam's eyes finally.

All he can do is nod in response, getting a bigger smile out of George. 

They stay like that as they finish their cigarettes.

They drop their hands when Ross announces that they should get back in and do their final preparations, and everyone tells each other they'll see each other during the ceremony, and they'll see Adam after, thanking him again for his help.

George grabs his jacket, shrugging it on and buttoning it before wiping invisible dust off of it, and Adam fixes his pocket square that shifted a bit.

Everyone starts heading inside, but George hangs back for long enough to mumble to Adam that he'll see him soon, and places a quick, gentle kiss on his cheek before starting to go to the door.

Adam feels bold, so he pulls George back by his wrist, cupping the other hand on the back of his neck, and connects their lips quickly.

"I'll see you," Adam murmurs against George's lips before letting him go.

George smiles wide and goofy at Adam as he opens the door and steps in, giving him one last look before hurrying off to John's room.

Adam grins to himself before stepping inside as well.

He is halfway across the room to Jamie and Penelope when John's mum stops him, saying his name and touching his shoulder gently.

He turns to her with a big smile and she says, "I just wanted to thank you again for everything. You've done so much to make our boys' day go smoothly so far, more than anyone could've asked."

"Well, thank you. I'm glad I could help. Everyone is so lovely and John and Ross are a beautiful, sweet couple that really deserve a wedding that is as beautiful and sweet as they are."

"John told us what you said to him earlier, and I just… that means so much. You really did make him feel a lot calmer. It was what he needed to hear, I think. Your wedding day is nerve-wracking and when someone can say just the thing to make it feel the way you want it to- happy and exciting, instead of stressful- that says a lot about that person," she says, looking a little teary. "I know we don't know you well, but nobody has said less than wonderful things about you this entire time. Your whole team, but you specifically."

"That's very kind. I'm glad I've had a good impact. It feels very easy and natural to go out of my way for them and everyone I've met here, since this is easily the best wedding experience I've had in my line of work. Probably could include every wedding I've been to as a guest, too, if I'm being honest."

She smiles wide and says, "well I'm sure one of the wedding party members has something to do with that."

Adam blushes a little.

"George is such a lovely person. On the surface, he can seem a little… odd, I suppose. But he's got such a good heart and he's very sweet and thoughtful. He and John have been mates for a long time. They all have. Matty and Ross were friends when they met John, and George had been friends with John for a few years already, and they all fell in together seamlessly. Matty and George immediately hit it off and have been thick as thieves since, and John and Ross…. Well, we could tell right away that they were going down this road, the way they looked at each other. Took them a whole two years to finally start dating, but it was worth the wait, it seems."

"I suppose it was," Adam smiles wide.

He thinks back to the first tasting John and Ross did with Crisp to sample the menu Adam and Jamie had put together for them, and one moment where he noticed Ross just staring at John as he listened to Jamie. He already knew in that moment that they must have a very special relationship. It has only become more obvious since then.

He decides to share that information with John's mum.

"Oh, the way they look at each other is something else, isn't it? You can just see. And I'm sure you've seen enough weddings to gauge that. Not that you want to think about the wedding you're working being a disaster, or the couple not making it, but I'm sure you have the voice in the back of your head that sees how a couple is toward each other at their wedding and it says, 'they must be marrying for money or unexpected pregnancy', you know? Maybe that's mean of me to say, but we've all seen those couples, and weddings are the most intimate days to see it. Staff gets overlooked and ignored, so you've probably seen more into couples' lives than they imagine."

"Well, I don't like to be negative or gossip, but…. You're not wrong," Adam chuckles, eyes widening at memories of some of the wedding couples he's seen.

"Oh, I'm sure you can probably look around a wedding reception and point out who is going to go home with who, and who is going to do something that ensures the couple will regret inviting them, and…. Oh, I bet you have stories, dear."

Adam laughs and she shakes her head with a smile.

"Anyway. I think I've gotten off-topic too much…. Like I said, we've known George for a long time. I don't remember ever seeing or hearing John talk about George being so taken with anyone else. Especially so quickly. He's had flings and stuff like that, but the ones he's been serious about are very different, and they usually take time for him. He appears confident and carefree, but he takes matters of the heart very seriously and he's not quick to let anyone close unless he knows they're right. Matty, John, and Ross may be the only people who've done that, and they're not… romantic interests. John says George's exes tend to tell him he has commitment issues, but that it's because they don't actually understand him. So, even if John and Abby and George himself hadn't already been going on about you, I'd have already figured out that there is something about you, something different and special."

Adam is absolutely bowled over and speechless.

He opens his mouth, then closes it, and clears his throat. 

"Oh, dear. I said too much didn't I? I'm not trying to put pressure on you, luv. It's just… if you're as taken with him, it's good news. But if you're more casual, please don't break his heart, just be honest about it upfront. He places a lot of importance on honesty, and he'll be less hurt by that, and won't hold it against you."

Adam meets her eyes and says, "I haven't been interested in a relationship with anyone even for a moment in three years, though I still made some attempts. I throw myself into my work and my pet dog, because that's a great way to avoid getting hurt by someone who should love me. I don't do anything casually. And I have to admit, he's disrupted my flow already, and that isn't an easy accomplishment."

She smiles wide, surprised, before letting a laugh out.

"Good," she says quietly, winking and patting his chest before starting toward John's room, saying another thank you over her shoulder.

Adam feels shaky, like he could actually go for a cigarette. 

He chews his lip and Jamie comes into view.

"Oh no. What did John's mum just hit you with? You haven't moved and you look anxious," Jamie tuts.

"No…. Well, yes. But it's a good thing, I think. Can I actually bother you for a cigarette?"

Jamie's eyebrows go up and they start making their way outside, Jamie sending a wave to Richard and Sarah.

Once outside, all Jamie has to do is look at Adam over their cigarettes with slight curiosity before he spills everything.

He's always been an open book with Jamie, and vice versa. It's part of why they're great business partners. 

After Adam finishes talking, Jamie thinks for a bit before finally saying, "sounds like you should take a chance with him, Adam."

"Okay. You don't think this is wildly rushed at all?"

"It is. But knowing you, if you feel like this, and if what John's mum said is real, and George seems pretty genuine, yeah?"

Adam nods.

"....Then I think you can't pass this up. It seems special."

Adam chews his lip.

"I mean, just lay it out for him. Tell him what you want, and just be honest and open. Take things as slow as you want to. If he's worth it, he'll respect the pace you feel comfortable at, right? You can make compromises, because relationships are a two way street, but you never have to do anything that is uncomfortable, and he shouldn't expect you to."

Music softly drifts from the courtyard and Adam stares into the distance, processing everything Jamie just said in relation to everything since he first met George. 

"Adam."

He meets Jamie's eyes. 

"Don't think, just answer with your gut: do you like him?"

"Yes."

"Do you think this is worth the risk?"

"Y-yes."

"Do you think he's a good fit for you?"

"I ju-"

"Do you?"

"...yes."

"Then he'll be understanding and patient."

"What if…."

"What?"

"What if I'm the one who doesn't want to be patient with myself?" Adam says quietly. 

Jamie sighs and puts his cigarette out, gripping both of Adam's shoulders. 

"Listen to both your heart and your head simultaneously, you need both and they need to fight back and forth, even if that's frustrating."

Adam nods.

"Okay," he says, putting his cigarette out before Jamie pulls him into a hug.

"Can't wait to see you dance with him later, yeah?"

"Please don't film me."

"I can't make promises. Or promises on Alex's behalf."

"You're his boss, you can tell him no phones out while he's working."

Jamie laughs.

"Fair," he says, clapping Adam's shoulders before they step apart.

Adam knows Jamie won't do that.

Jamie opens the door and motions for Adam to go in.

"Let's do this, mate."


	6. Chapter 6

The next nearly 2 hours are a bustle of activity, Adam and Jamie rush around with Jean, the florist, and Margaret, who is Penelope's assistant, helping inside while Penelope is outside doing what she needs for the ceremony. 

There is about 20 minutes of calm before Margaret says, "the wedding parties are coming back in. They're going to have free reign over the back for a while, none of the guests are allowed back there, obviously, but we are okay. We'll want champagne flutes in both rooms soon, as they'll be toasting the in-laws and the signing of the wedding license. Then the wedding party will do just a few more photos outside once all guests have made their way inside. The grooms have requested that nobody wait for them to begin dinner, as they know it might be a bit before they're back in. So, your staff can begin setting up the salad bar area and buffet area now for guests to start any time. Adam and Jamie, you are requested to bring the flutes. 11 to each room."

"Sounds perfect, thank you, Margaret," Adam smiles warmly at her as he sets up 2 trays with champagne flutes, Jamie picking one up and Adam picks up the other.

They follow Margaret to the back, which is swarming with both wedding parties, both sets of parents, and Penelope.

Jamie heads toward the end of the hall that Ross' room is at, Adam heading toward John's. 

Abby, Brita, and Chelsea are in there, laughing and touching up their make-up, along with John's mum and dad.

Adam sets the tray down, and Abby sees him, calling, "George and Rob are witnessing the signing of the license, but he will be in here soon, don't worry!" 

Adam blushes at her grin, starting to back out the door. He's bumped into and turns, feeling hands grab his waist.

He's met with a flushed and breathless George. He looks absolutely elated and radiant, and he seems to finally focus on Adam, smiling wider and saying, "Well, hi!"

Adam giggles, feeling the infectious nature of his bubbly joy.

"Hi, George. Good ceremony?"

"Oh, it was the best, luv!" George leans in and presses a quick kiss to Adam's cheek. "I'm over the moon after watching my best mates have such a lovely wedding."

Adam feels like he's been hit over the head at how caught he is in George's happiness.

George moves him into the room further, checking himself in the mirror quickly, saying, "gotta do these photos soon," and pats the seat beside him as he sits, looking at Adam.

Adam hesitantly sits and John comes into the room, followed by Penelope and Jean. 

"Toasts!" John pops the champagne bottle open, filling the flutes as his dad hands them to everyone, winking at George as he hands him two, and George blushes just a bit as he hands Adam a glass.

Ross, followed by Rob, Matty, the other groomsmen- Connor and Kent- make their way into the room with champagne. 

Adam stands up as George does, and Ross' parents, Margaret, Jamie, Dean, and Billie all make their way into the room, carrying their glasses.

John clears his throat, Ross wrapping his arm around his waist and kissing his cheek. John grins and says, "we want to thank all of you so much for today. George and Rob, for being the most incredible best men we could've asked for. There aren't words for how grateful we are to you two."

Ross joins in, "and to Matty, Connor, Kent, Abby, Chelsea, and Brita: you're the best group of mates to have standing up there with us today."

"To Ross' mum and dad, thank you for raising such a wonderful person for me to find and fall in love with, and for welcoming me into your family."

"To John's lovely parents, for creating the most incredible, sweet, and loving person I have ever met, and allowing me to be part of your family."

"To Penelope and Margaret, for keeping everything stable to get us from that first meeting in May last year to this moment, and helping us achieve our wedding goals and keeping me sane. Again, there are no words to express my gratitude."

"To Jean, for taking all of my lovely husband's wild calls at weird times to talk about flowers and color schemes," Ross smiles at John, who laughs. "It looks absolutely stunning, and I wish your assistants were still here to be lauded for their work this morning."

"To Jamie and Adam, and their whole team at Crisp, for not only feeding us, but helping us get drunk tonight! And thank you again to Adam for going so out of his way today. I'm sure your efforts this morning made Penelope's day so much easier, " John laughs, and Penelope raises her glass at Adam.

Adam feels George's arm slip loosely around his waist and pull him closer.

"To Dean, who has been photographing us and capturing all the moments we might not get to see otherwise. You have a great eye and I love your work. I am so excited to see how everything turns out, especially all the candid moments of guests and the party that we've been too busy to have witnessed personally."

"To Billie, who made us all look so pretty, even after some teary moments and stress. I promise, after pictures are done, you don't have to lift your arms up all night if you don't want to. I'm so sorry you had to style the hair of trees," John giggles, and Billie quietly mumbles, "seriously, why are you all so tall?"

Ross continues, saying, "thank you all for making today happen for us. You're all the best people we could've asked for to get us through this day as lovely and perfectly as it went. And we can't let any of you go another moment without us recognizing the work and love and care you've put into our day. We hope you all will enjoy the reception with us."

He looks at John and, in unison, they say, "thank you. Cheers."

Everyone raises their glasses and cheers or claps/snaps gently before some clinking and sipping the champagne. 

George looks at Adam as they clink their glasses together, and they don't take their eyes off of each other as they sip and smile at each other.

Biting his lip, George leans in near Adam's ear to softly ask, "Can I kiss you right now? Is that okay?"

Adam hesitantly looks around the room and George watches, stepping back.

"Sorry, I can wait. I don't want to pressure you or ma-"

"Yes, George. You can. I want you to," Adam says quickly, not liking George stepping away from him.

George smiles and sets his glass down, cupping Adam's jaw in both hands and kissing him, clearly not needing to be told twice that he can.

Adam was expecting something small and not quite so intense, so he's surprised he doesn't drop his glass.

His free hand curls around George's wrist before moving to his jaw.

George kisses so amazingly. If the way he's kissed Adam so far is any gauge, he's a good kisser. So passionate and strong but it doesn't feel like an attack or sexually charged.

He kisses Adam like this is an important moment, and Adam is the most important person.

They pull apart and George presses one more quick kiss to his lips before fully pulling back.

Adam looks into George's eyes and smiles wide at that lopsided smile.

They step back apart, smiling at the fact that somehow, it seems like nobody noticed that, even in the small room (though some people are milling out into the hallway now).

George picks his glass back up and they lean against the counter side by side.

Adam feels George's arm slip back around him again.

"I know we need to have a chance to like, fully talk about this when it's not my mates' wedding, but I do really want to take you on a proper date, like, pretty much as soon as possible," George says before going to take a drink.

Adam smiles and says, " I would really like that."

"Good."

He finishes his champagne as Dean and Penelope start ushering the party to the back door for photos, Billie helping touch up everyone's make-up and hair quickly.

She looks over George's hair quickly and says, "immaculate."

"I didn't touch it, just like you made me promise," he grins up at her from his seat.

"You know I only asked that because I know how much you fiddle with your hair absently. And anyway, I guess I should have been making this one promise not to mess it up too, eh?" She motions at Adam, who blushes.

To his surprise, George is blushing too.

"Y-yeah, I suppose. But hey, he didn't mess it up, so good news!" George awkwardly gets out, laughing a little.

"You two are real cute. He's a catch, G. Oh, and Matty definitely snapped a picture."

She smiles and slips away.

George chews his lip for a moment and says, "her and I used to date," looking up at Adam. "A few years ago. Didn't end great, but we reconciled, and I did a lot of apologizing, and we became friends again finally. I had missed her friendship a lot, so it was so good to be friends again. I'm not surprised she doesn't find this weird."

"What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well, since she is an ex because of something shitty I did, I think it's good for you to have that information, be honest and upfront with you.... She was stressed about uni, and I kind of… I made her feel bad for it, rather than being helpful. I was an idiot, and acted like a manipulative dickhead because I wanted more sexual attention. She deserved a lot better than that, and she knew it so…. She dumped my dumb arse, " George finishes with a chuckle. "Thankfully, I've grown up and realized that shit was not okay, and, I mean, it feels borderline abusive. And I think I was in an unhealthy headspace. Her and I have worked through a lot. I'm really lucky she was willing to hear me out and take time for us to rebuild a healthy friendship, because going through that molded me into a much less shit person than I was at that point. College wasn't good to me, I went off the rails, but not in like, a fun way. Just a toxic, disturbing way. Even Matty didn't talk to me as much for a while. It was… rough. But that's not a good enough excuse for how I was to her. I'm not passing blame, or anything. I really hurt her because of who I'd become and it took a breakdown to realize I had to do something different or I was going to do that to even more people."

"Oh, luv, are you delving into that college mess?" Billie surprises both of them.

"I- well."

She looks at Adam and says, "college made us both the worst versions of ourselves, it's not ALL just his fault like he's probably telling you. And we're both the happier, healthier versions of ourselves now," she wraps her arms around George's shoulders from the side, squeezing him and pecking a quick kiss to his forehead as he squeezes her middle. She meets Adam's eyes and says, "Don't let him scare you off of him with that mess. That shit was not real George, I can promise. That me wasn't real me, either. Best to leave that dead in the past."

"I was just explaining. He should hear the worst, give him an early opportunity to run still," George laughs, but there's no humor in it. 

"Oh, hush. You're a catch, George. And Adam sees that, we can all tell he does. Now, get outside so Dean can take pictures."

She lets him go and pats his shoulder before heading for the door.

Adam doesn't miss the tattoo above her wrist that matches the one on George's.

George is looking down, chewing his lip, and Adam reaches out to slip his fingers under George's chin, tipping his head back up.

"We've all got stories of times we REALLY fucked up, George. At least you worked to make amends and change."

George smiles and says, "it just still doesn't feel good."

"That's because you're a good person, and the thought of you having done something bad to someone isn't great if you're a good person."

"Okay, that's almost word for word what Billie said at some point. That's too freaky," George says, standing.

Adam laughs and follows him out the door and down the hall.

George turns to take his hand shyly, then place a quick kiss on Adam's lips.

"Thank you," he murmurs, letting his forehead drop against Adam's. 

"Thank you, as well."

George squeezes his hands before stepping back and heading to the back door, giving a small wave to Adam.

Jamie comes up next to Adam after a moment and says, "well, you two are fucking adorable."

"Thanks."

"I'm happy for you, mate."

Adam smiles wide and looks over at Jamie.

"Me too."

Jamie grins and they head back into the hall to help their team feed and liquor up the guests.

  
  
  


For the next hour, it's pretty busy, and Adam jokes and smiles with guests easily, feeling loose and happy.

When it comes time for best man speeches, George and Rob stand up beside each other, wrapping their arms around each other's backs as they fiddle with microphones and wait for everyone to quiet.

"Alright, everyone. We're going to keep this short and simple," Rob starts. "George and I decided to do our speeches as a collaboration."

"We've known each other for a long time, now, and decided riffing off of each other was a great way to storytell," George grins, squeezing Rob's shoulder. 

"My brother Ross. We can be mean to each other like any siblings, but we're best friends, truly. I wouldn't be who I am without him, and I'm sure, with some coaxing, he would say the same about me." Ross laughs and smiles as Rob meets his eyes, continuing. "When we met John and George, who had already been friends for a while, the four of us, along with Matty, pretty much instantly fell into a great friendship."

George smiles, saying, "John is probably my oldest mate, and one of my best mates, so when I saw how much Ross impacted him from the very beginning, and how Ross looked at John, I knew this day was going to come, and I knew it would be as lovely as it has been. But then they danced around each other like school girls for two bloody years, driving the rest of us mad."

There's a chorus of laughter, and Rob picks up where George left off.

"It was infuriating, honestly. Because we all could see them falling in love, and how perfect they were for each other. But I suppose good things take some time, and it paid off."

George smiles and walks up to John, taking his hand.

"John, you are one of the most incredibly thoughtful, sweet, caring, and genuine people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, and our friendship has been, hands down, one of the best and most important things that has ever happened to me. Seeing you and Ross' relationship bloom and grow into what it is today has been an honor, and I'm so overwhelmingly happy for you, for what you have found," George turns to Ross, taking his hand and says, "I always worried that John was too good for anyone he'd meet, and nobody would ever be able to treat him as good as he deserves, but you've accomplished the seemingly impossible. Thank you, mate."

He steps back to Rob, and Adam can tell he's tearing up almost as much as John and Ross are.

Rob steps up to the two of them and says, "Ross, being your brother has been both trying and wonderful, usually simultaneously, and I will never admit this again, so listen closely: I love you to bits- you're stubbornness, you're bratty-ness, everything. You've found someone who loves it even more than me, and I'm so proud to see you never take it for granted," he turns to John, saying, "thank you for not only putting up with this wanker, but understanding him and being patient and loving him so unwaveringly. I am so proud that you are part of my family."

He steps back over to George, bringing their drinks with him, and they smile at each other before George says, "cheers to the most lovely couple!"

They hold their glasses up, and a chorus of 'cheers' echoes through the room as they clink their glasses and drink.

They turn back to Ross and John, holding their glasses to them and Rob says, "to the two people who deserve only the best," and they drink, Ross and John mirroring them.

The room applauds and Adam can't stop grinning, clapping along with everyone.

Rob and George walk over to the DJ to return their mics, but not before George turns back to everyone and says, "let's get tanked now, yeah?"

Ross laughs loudly, and stands to hug Rob and George as they come back to their seats, John hugging them both after, clinging to George for a moment, burying his face in George's shoulder, and George squeezes him very tightly. 

Adam smiles, melting a little.

Alex sighs in a dramatic and dreamy way beside him, and Adam gives him a smack on the shoulder.

"He seems like a keeper, mate," Alex says earnestly before walking away.

Adam looks up again to see George looking at him, and smiles wide.


	7. Chapter 7

Another hour passes, and Adam is fully immersed in a conversation with Ross' cousin and his wife about the stuffed buns, when someone steps close behind him and says, "I hear those are Adam's specialty. And they are as delightful as he is."

Adam bites back a smile before turning to face George, who now had lost his jacket and tie, sleeves rolled up to just under his elbows.

"Mind if I steal him for a moment?"

They smile and shoo George and Adam off, thanking Adam for the buns.

Adam follows as George walks across the room to a door that says 'Service', and turns to push it open with his back, grinning at Adam.

"George, are we al-"

George grabs Adam's hand, pulling him through the door.

They're in a long, cement hallway, and George looks both ways before pulling Adam along, slotting his fingers between Adam's loosely.

They come to a ladder leading up through a sort of tunnel through the ceiling and George drops his hand to start climbing up, giggling softly.

Adam looks around before following.

"George," he hisses out. "Are we even allowed in here? Where are we going? I just left in the middle of my work and didn't even let anyone know I-"

"I asked Jamie if it was okay to steal you for a bit."

Adam stammers before saying, "okay, well, where are we going? How did you even know this was here? What-"

He stops as George opens a hatch above him and crawls onto a platform, reaching back to offer a hand to Adam, helping him up.

Adam stands up straight, brushing his trousers off, before George extends a hand to him again, and Adam shyly slips his hand into George's again, letting George lead him through some scaffolding to a tarp, pushing it back and leading Adam through it.

They step out onto an open rooftop, and have a pretty gorgeous view of the river, and a shockingly stunning sunset.

Adam's breath leaves him at the sight.

"Wow. That is incredible."

George steps up behind him and hooks his chin over his shoulder, lacing their hands together. 

"So, you're done fussing about me bringing you up here, then?" He says, but there's not even a sarcastic kind of heat behind his words.

"Yeah, I am," Adam softly says.

"Is this okay?'

Adam nods, leaning back against George a little.

"This is lovely," Adam says softly. 

"I am surprisingly decent at being the romantic, soppy type. This was my smoothest attempt to date, though. You see why I was hurrying, yeah? Didn't want you to miss this sunset. I told Dean he should try and get a shot of John and Ross outside right now. It looks stunning in the garden."

"I think you and Rob's dueling best man speech earlier proved you were a bit of a soppy type."

He can tell George is smiling wide and he moves to turn and face him, struck by how gorgeous George's eyes look in this light.

George has the audacity to look shy.

Adam puts his hands on George's sides, pulling him closer, and presses his cheek into George's shoulder, looking at the sunset.

"Thank you for this, George. This is so beautiful. It's probably the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me."

George's hand cups the back of Adam's head, fingertips gently massaging his scalp.

"I just met you and I already know you deserve this. And I'd like to be the person to make it happen…"

Adam buries his face into George's shoulder, wrapping his arms around the blonde and squeezing him.

"As much as it terrifies me, I want that, too," he mumbles.

"Awesome," George breathes out."

Adam smiles, feeling sort of helpless in a good way.

_ I'm so fuckin gone for him already. _

After a few minutes, they pull apart and George offers a cigarette. 

They stand smoking with George's arm around Adam's shoulders, silently watching the sunset.

As Adam finishes his cigarette, he sighs.

"I've never been reluctant to go back to work before."

"Well, I'm sure it won't help to know that I told Jamie I wanted to take you up here to show you this gorgeous sunset right in front of Alex and Paul and Lainey, will it?" George says with a comical grin.

Adam groans and buries his face in his hands.

George lets out a squeaky giggle and Adam looks up at him with a small smile.

"What?"

"Your laugh is really cute."

"Is it?"

Adam nods.

"You're really cute."

Shaking his head, Adam shifts and says, "I guess we should go back in, though."

"Yeah, you gotta get enough work in to be reasonably able to take the time to dance with me."

Adam huffs out a laugh and says, "well, technically, I'm allowed to be done in about an hour."

"Oh, 'technically', huh? You being a co-owner of the company doesn't have anything to do with the rules you make up?"

"Jamie and I set these rules a while back. He left early at our last event."

George hums and says, "well, lucky me, then."

"Yep."

George steps close to Adam, hooking an arm around Adam's shoulders and drawing him in for a kiss that turns Adam's knees into jello.

His hands settle on George's hips and he leans into the kiss.

They slowly pull apart after a moment, George pressing another kiss to his lips, and they make their way back, hand in hand.

As they're heading back down the hallway to the door, Adam says, "I love the way you kiss."

George turns to him with a soft and questioning smile.

"These intense and sweet slow kisses, followed by one last quick one. I've never been kissed like that. It- it's lovely."

George's smile shifts into this lazy, pleasant, toothy grin, and, in a low voice, he says, "I don't want to stop, is probably why. But if I keep going, it might not stay slow. Or sweet."

He gives Adam a quick waggle of his eyebrows before biting his lip and turning to open the door.

Adam flushes so deep red he feels like his face is burning.

George holds the door open for him and Adam walks back into the hall, trying to get his brain back under control.

He can tell George is grinning, knowing full well what he just did to Adam.

"Hey," he says suddenly, looking at Adam earnestly. "I really do want to take things slow… I just… also kind of want to jump your bones pretty badly, too."

Adam smiles, blushing a little, and feeling a bit confident, says, "yeah, me too."

George bites down a grin and bumps Adam's hip with his.

"Should let you get back to work, luv. Can't be hogging the handsome waitstaff/bartender to myself."

Laughing, Adam looks down and across the room before giving George another look and saying, "I'll see you in a bit, yeah?"

George smiles and softly says, "can't wait."

They hesitantly part ways, walking across the room in different directions.   
  


Adam avoids Jamie, Alex, Lainey, and Paul for as long as possible, helping Sarah and Richard restock trays and inventory what they still have.

Eventually, he makes his way toward the bar, albeit begrudgingly. 

He immediately regrets coming near Alex, who starts badgering him about how cute and romantic George is.

Lainey smiles warmly at Adam, rolling her eyes at Alex's antics.

She finally taps his wrist and says, "okay, we all get that you're insanely jealous that Adam has someone who likes him enough to do things like that."

Alex shuts up, and Adam mouths a 'thank you' to her.

She nods and smiles to him, busying herself with restocking wine glasses.

Adam decides to hit back a bit, leaning over to Alex and saying, "you know, if you're up to it, I will take you on a cheesy, romantic 1-on-1 employer/employee date. If that helps."

Lainey barks out a sudden laugh as Alex throws a plastic cup at Adam, who breaks his serious demeanor, laughing and dodging the cup.

"Piss off, you knob," Alex says with a grin. "I wouldn't go anywhere alone with you."

"That's unprofessional, 'Lex," Adam laughs.

Alex starts to say something back, but loud cheering and laughter disrupts their spat.

Adam turns and sees Ross dipping John on the dance floor, kissing him.

He smiles at the sweet moment before catching sight of George, who is standing with his arm loosely slung around Matty's shoulders, a beer in his hand, as Matty is cupping a wine glass, both laughing happily at the couple.

His heart warms at the sight and he is reminded that he's so fucked, so head over heels already for a guy he met literally yesterday. 

He chews on his lip, smiling.

The song changes, and Adam watches guests begin dancing.

George steps over to John and Ross, the three of them conversing for a moment before Ross steps away and John and George partner off to dance, John smiling happily at George as he leads them gently.

_ Yeah, I'm so fucked. He's too sweet _ .

George rests his cheek on the top of John's forehead and smiles, saying something to John.

He catches Adam's eyes across the room, and smiles softly. 

Adam smiles back to him, and he sees Matty dancing with Abby as Kent and Brita dance. Connor and his girlfriend pair off, and Ross begins dancing with Chelsea. Rob and his girlfriend find their way to the dancefloor as well, followed by John's parents, then Ross' parents.

Adam gets kind of wrapped up watching George dancing with John, and he can hear Alex saying something about it, so he turns to look at him.

"What?"

"They're really sweet. Their friendship is sweet," Alex says, motioning toward the party dancing.

"It's very lovely."

Lainey leans over and says, "they all seem so close and happy. George's flatmate, Matty? Those two have a weird facial code they seem to communicate in. They remind me of my cousins, they're twins. Those two have a bond like that."

Adam smiles and says, "yeah, they're ridiculously close. John's mum says they immediately developed a really close bond as soon as they met."

"Doesn't feel like competition, though?" Alex asks.

"Not like that, at least."

Alex nods and says, "so, what does George do for a living?"

The realization that he has no idea hits Adam.

"We actually haven't even talked about that. He, uh, he studied music production at uni, and said he's a drummer, so I'm going to guess something music related…"

Alex laughs and Lainey just says, "what he does for work isn't everything. Doesn't define who he is, right?"

"Right…" Adam says, hoping it's not something crazy.


	8. Chapter 8

Adam finishes one of the lists he's working on, and starts heading toward the back storage.

Suddenly, the lists are plucked out of his hand and he turns, startled, to see Jamie.

His pen is snatched from his other hand and he turns to see Matty, pen in one hand and his wine in the other, a goofy smirk on his face.

Adam looks back and forth between them, and Jamie looks confused at Matty.

"What the-?"

"Sorry, mate. Saw Jamie snatch the booklet out of your hands and couldn't resist the opportunity."

He hands the pen back and tips his head back, finishing his wine.

"Gonna find the loo, see ya lads."

Matty slips away from them with some flourish, and Adam chuckles a little, turning back to Jamie.

"That guy is weird, but funny. I like him," Jamie says, very matter-of-factly. "Anyway, you're done, free, go find your boy."

"Shut it, Jamie. He isn't 'my boy'. I-"

"Not yet. Go find him and that'll happen faster, though."

Adam sighs and says, "alright, but I also intend to start drinking, so if you wind up needing my help, I can't imagine I'll be much help."

Jamie grins and says, "that reminds me. One for you, one for George," and hands Adam a little key.

"Nice. You sure?"

"Yeah, why not? I'm proud of you, taking a risk, letting yourself be happy. And, it would appear you've met a real one who's right for you, and all, so. Celebrate now, just in case."

"Wow."

"Hey, I'm rooting for you two, but we both know how it can be sometimes. Let's just pray he doesn't wind up like that."

Adam nods. It's not what he wants to hear or think about right now, but Jamie isn't wrong. And it's not bad to be a little wary of a seemingly good thing.

Jamie gently takes the pen from Adam's hand and walks away.

Pocketing the key, Adam grins, heading to the van.

He moves some things around before finding the cooler, unlocking it, and plucking two bottles out.

After he locks it back up and locks up the van, he heads around the back of the building to the porch, texting George along the way.

He's about to hit send when he hears George's voice coming from the porch.

"Right, but it's very scary, as well. I mean… well you know."

He hears Ross respond, "yeah, but clearly that means something about him is different for you. Special. You're reacting differently to him this easily and quickly, that means he's important. Trust your gut, mate. You know what feels right and what doesn't, yeah?"

"Yeah. It just is so sudden and feels too quick. I worry I'm rushing, y'know? I just don't want to make him feel like I'm bullshitting him and pushing too quickly because of an ulterior, sexual motive. I mean, I want that, too, don't get me wrong. But… I can tell there's a reason he's kept himself from a relationship for a while, and I haven't asked, but it's likely similar to my issues."

"I think just be honest with him. He seems like the type to be most receptive to honesty, even if what you tell him isn't necessarily what he prefers, at least then you two can discuss it and work through it," Rob says.

"G, I wish I could go back and not waste time with John, being unsure for years. I wish I'd had that time with him in my arms, rather than at arm's length. If you're sure, and you tell him all of this and he's sure too, don't waste a moment second guessing it. Maybe one or both of you will get hurt, but it's better than not knowing. And Rob is right. Being upfront with our feelings no matter what is how John and I have worked so well."

"Yeah, and seeing the two of you… that's what I want. Something that special and obviously meant to be. Bloody hell, that's so soppy, but I mean it," George says.

Adam bites back a smile.

George really is surrounded by good people.

Adam takes the moment of pause to walk into view around the porch, coming up to the steps with his phone in his hand. He looks up and smiles at them.

"Hey, I was just about to message you. I'm all done."

George smiles softly at Adam and pats the seat beside him.

Adam smiles, coming up the steps, sitting down, and hands a bottle to him.

"Special from Jamie for us. Though now I feel bad I don't have four to offer," he looks to Ross and Rob. 

Ross waves him off, "it's alright, mate. You and Jamie have done so much for us already."

"What is it?" George asks, inspecting the unmarked brown bottle.

"Special reserve KH. It's Jamie's little treasure. Hard to come by, I reckon. He pays something like £30 a bottle and stashes them away."

George's eyebrows shoot up.

"And he's giving one to me?"

"Well, he told me one for each of us," Adam smiles shyly, glancing at Ross and Rob, who are grinning wildly.

"Wow… that's awfully generous of him."

"You've been awfully generous."

George smiles and says, "you lot have earned all of those tips, hush."

"You put MORE money in the jar? George, you're going to be broke by the end of the night. The tip this morning probably covered everything you've drank since, and we never expect the wedding party to tip, anyway. It's tradition for the party to get everything without any pay, including tip."

George levels him with a look and says, "I don't do anything traditionally, so…" he shrugs, popping the cap off the bottle. "Anyway, I guess it just means our first proper date is on you, yeah?"

Adam's mouth snaps shut audibly, and he bites a huge smile down, blushing.

Ross and Rob start giggling, and George grins at Adam as he takes a swig.

"Bloody hell, this is good."

Adam chews his lip, still smiling and says, "it is that."

"Would it be too taboo to give Ross and Rob a little taste, or…?"

Adam shakes his head, and pops the cap off of his, motioning for them to hand their now empty cups to him.

George takes Ross' and pours a little into the cup before handing it back, and Adam does the same with Rob's. 

"Cheers," Ross says, smiling.

"Cheers," they respond, clinking the cups and bottles together before taking a swig.

"Wow, yeah, you weren't kidding, this is delicious. I mean, it better be, for that price," Rob says.

After a little bit of casual chatting and smoking, Ross bumps his knee against Rob's and says, "well, I better get inside. Find my husband. Love saying that already."

"Better find my lady, too," Rob says, and they both stand up, saying they'll see Adam and George later, and heading inside.

As soon as George and Adam are alone, Adam takes a deep breath, turning to George, and says, "I didn't mean to be eavesdropping, I just… was walking over here, texting you to meet me here, and I heard a bit of what you three were saying. I feel like I should let you know that…"

George's eyebrows go up and he says, "um, oh. What all did you hear?"

"About you worrying that you're maybe rushing and don't want me to feel pressured or think it's just about sex. That's about where I came in."

George's cheeks flush just a bit.

"But that's a pretty good thing to overhear someone you fancy saying, so, I mean…"

George rubs the back of his neck, saying, "yeah, I s'pose it is, innit? Um. I think I'm just a bit embarrassed by how soppy I was being," he finishes with a laugh.

"George."

He looks at Adam, who gives him a very somber look.

"I think what I overheard probably makes me more comfortable with this. With you. So, I wouldn't be embarrassed if I was you. And if that isn't enough, I kind of feel a lot of the stuff you were saying, and I wish I vocalized it to anyone I trust a bit better, because the response you got from Ross and Rob is what I needed to hear, too. Jamie kind of said some similar things to me, but they really nailed what I needed to hear, so… I guess I hope it put you at ease as much as it did for me?"

George is giving him this soft smile and, without hesitation, leans in and kisses Adam, hand going up to his jaw, fingers rubbing the base of his scalp as his thumb gently brushes over Adam's cheek.

When he pulls back, he mumbles against Adam's lips, "I am so relieved to hear you say that," and kisses him again.

Adam smiles against his lips and thinks that of all the risks to take, George might be the best one.


	9. Chapter 9

They sit on the porch for a good while, finishing their drinks and cigarettes, chatting about the wedding a bit before George drops his cigarette butt into the empty bottle and standing up.

He offers a hand to Adam with a smile and says, "care for that dance?"

Adam smiles, taking his hand and standing up, saying, "absolutely."

They toss their bottles in the bin and George opens the door for Adam, following him back inside. 

George laces their hands together, leading him to the edge of the floor, and they wait for the current song- which is some very upbeat pop tune that Adam can't place- to end.

Once it does, a sort of synthesizer 80's sounding song that reminds Adam of a mix between ToTo, Lionel Richie, Peter Gabriel, and Cyndi Lauper starts playing.

"There we go," George pulls Adam closer and wraps his arm around Adam's waist, and Adam smiles shyly, slipping his arms around George, letting him lead him.

_ 'The real life love is under the mirror of the surface, so cut my cord, I want to know how deep we can take it. See the thing you've been chasing, honey, you'll never find it wearin' a life vest. You gotta risk your neck, know in your heart it will be worth it.' _

Adam smiles at the lyrics as George's cheek softly brushes against his before he turns, gently singing along into Adam's ear.

_ 'So here we go, head first, no regrets and no rules, we can stay as long as we want slow dancing in the darkness, and all I know is I wanna be here with you from now on.' _

He can feel George smiling against his jaw before he drops a kiss there.

_ 'It's been my fashion to keep my head dry and get my feet wet. Step by step I've been letting you lead me towards the deep end. Well, I learned my lesson, honey. Just when you think you're all adult-swim is precisely when somebody shows you to the ocean.' _

George gently spins them and hums along as he tightens his grip around Adam a little.

_ 'So here we go, head first, no regrets and no rules, we can stay as long as we want slow dancing in the darkness, and all I know is I wanna be here with you from now on.' _

Adam lets one hand slip up to gently cup the back of George's head, fingers toying with the back of his hair a bit.

_ 'Just keep holding on, holding on to me. Under, under the top of, the surface of the sea. Just keep holding on, holding on to me. Just keep holding on, holding on to me.'  _

George pulls them apart, taking Adam's hand and twirling him with a huge, dorky grin.

Adam giggles, stepping back against him, and letting George pick up their pace a little as the song picks up.

_ 'Oh, here we go, head first and no regrets and no rules. We can stay as long as we want slow dancing in the darkness. And all I know is I wanna be here with you from now on. Head first into the water. And so it hits me, I guess we couldn't breathe all along. One breath after another. And all I know is I wanna be here with you from now on. And all I know is I wanna be here with you from now on. And all I know is I wanna be here with you from now on.' _

As the song slowly fades, Adam grins, mumbling, "okay, that song was a little on the nose, wasn't it?"

"Exactly like a cheesy film, yeah?"

Before he can respond, there's some cheering and clapping, so Adam turns to see pretty much everyone watching them.

Jamie whistles loudly, and Adam sees Matty and Alex both recording them on their phones beside him.

Adam blushes hard, burying his face in his hands and falling against a laughing George, who wraps his arms around him.

"Oh my- seriously?" Adam laughs into George's collarbone.

"Oh, did I not mention that I texted John while we were outside to have him ask the DJ to play that when we came back in and that maybe Matty was with him, and maybe they were standing by the bar talking to Alex when I did that?"

Adam pulls back to stare at George with his jaw dropped as George's hands drop to Adam's hips.

"Uh, no, you didn't!"

George grins and says, "must've slipped my mind."

Adam weakly smacks his chest before falling against him again, fingers twisting around George's suspenders.

"That's the fuckin cutest thing anyone has ever done for me."

George squeezes him tightly and kisses his temple.

The next song starts, and it's "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran, which George playfully gags at, but they just stay there, swaying gently along to it.

"You are such a doll, you know that?" Adam says, gently pressing his nose against George's neck.

"Mmm, only if you realize you're a sweet little cinnamon roll with really gorgeous eyes."

Adam's brow furrows as he smiles and he starts laughing.

"What?"

"I said what I said," George says.

Adam huffs a laugh and straightens up, looking George in the eyes, smiling at his lopsided smile.

"Hey, I don't know what that song was."

"Oh, it's called 'Aquaman' by Walk The Moon."

"Okay. I have to remember the song we first danced to, afterall."

George grins, saying, "Also, I have to make sure Matty sends me that video."

"My phone vibrated a bit ago, so I'm sure Alex has sent it to me already."

"I'm going to watch that a billion times before I go to sleep tonight."

Adam blushes, knowing he probably will do the same.

The next song is "At Last" by Etta James, so George insists on dancing to that, too, mumbling along softly as they gently move, Adam's arms wrapped low around George's waist as George has his arms draped around Adam's shoulders, tipping his forehead against Adam's. 

When he first met George yesterday, Adam probably wouldn't have guessed that he's such a heartthrob romantic, but he's seeing it firsthand, and he feels so fortunate.

Looking at George's eyelashes fanning against his cheeks and his lips moving along, Adam knows for sure he is lucky as hell.


	10. Chapter 10

They eventually leave the dancefloor, walking to a table where John, Ross, Rob, and Matty are sitting, and John immediately comes up to them, looking teary. He hugs them both at the same time, squeezing almost dangerously tight.

"Oh, you two, that was so bloody adorable!"

"Thank you, but I feel bad, mate."

John pulls back and looks at Adam, confused.

"I mean, it's your wedding."

John shushes him and says, "George is in my top 5 favorite people in the world. Seeing him be all cute and happy with such a lovely person is better than probably half those wedding gifts we received," he points at the table across the room.

He hugs them both again, kissing both of their cheeks before pulling away.

John goes back to his seat beside Ross, and Adam sits beside Matty.

George leans down, mumbling to Adam that he's going to get them drinks, and asks what Adam would like.

Adam kind of dreads George going near Alex right now, but honestly, at this point, he's blushed so much and moved on that Alex can't even hurt him anymore.

"Just a Stella is good, thanks," Adam says, softly.

George smiles, kissing his cheek before walking to the bar.

Adam watches him go for a bit, before he can feel eyes on him.

He turns and everyone is just smiling at him.

Matty has the dopiest grin on his face and leans closer, chin on his hand with his elbow propped on the table.

"Matty, don't be…. I don't know, you," Ross warns, getting a laugh out of Rob.

Without looking away from Adam, Matty flips Ross off and slowly says, "Adam…. Did you know George is my very best mate in the whole world?"

"I did…. Am I going to get the shovel talk?"

Matty jerks back, scoffing, and saying, "um, no. First of all, George wouldn't speak to me if I did. Second- and maybe more importantly- d'you see these arms? I don't think I'd come off too threatening if I did that. Wouldn't be effective, would it? It'd be a right laugh if I threatened you."

"I don't know, I'm not exactly a beefcake, either, mate. We'd probably be evenly matched. Actually, you're shorter than me, so that's an advantage. Lower center of gravity means you're more agile and harder to get off balance," Adam points out.

John and Ross are laughing so hard, Adam feels the table shaking slightly.

Matty stares Adam down for a moment before grumbling, "I am not that short."

Adam shrugs and says, "no, but shorter than me, so…"

Matty keeps glowering for a bit before taking a dramatic sip of his wine.

"Anyway," he says loudly. "I wasn't going to do that. I was going to tell you that I'm really chuffed to see him so comfortable and happy. So, thank you, I guess. Although, after that comment about my height, I'm not feeling as inclined to sing your praises."

Adam smiles, saying, "well, I appreciate that. I don't know that I've ever been this comfortable with anyone romantically, and I just met him."

He stops, realizing that is true.

"I like you. I can tell you're not lying. I bet you're absolute shit at lying, aren't you?"

"Uh, yeah, I've never been great at it."

"Good. Neither is George. He's good at keeping a straight face when he's being snarky or whatever, but even then, only for a moment before that lopsided, doofy smile gives him away and he starts laughing like a stupid git. If you really want to know, though, his eyes always give him away first. It's easy to tell when he's covering something up."

"To put it nicely, he wears his heart on his sleeve," Ross supplies, giving Matty a harsh whack on the shoulder.

Adam smiles at Ross while Matty grumbles at Ross for hurting him.

Absently, Adam glances down and sees John's thumb rub over Ross' knuckles as their linked hands lay on the table.

He looks away with a smile.

George comes back, setting a glass in front of Adam, sitting beside him.

"Matty, leave him be."

Matty gasps and says, "how dare you G! How could you assume I was doing anything-"

"Cos you're a prat," George grins.

"Oh, I see. Find a lovely, fit chap who lets you snog him, and now you don't love me anymore?"

George rolls his eyes, standing to move behind Matty's chair, leaning down to wrap him up in a tight hug, smashing his cheek against Matty's. 

"Course I do, mate. Love you to bits."

He wraps one arm around Matty's face, pulling him close to press a dramatic kiss on his cheek while Matty swats at him, trying to get free.

Adam, Ross, John, and Rob are laughing at their antics, and George finally gives up as Matty gets a hand free to push George's face away from him as the blonde can't control his laughter, a few bits of hair coming loose from the hold and falling into his face.

"Stop. Go kiss on your new boyfriend, you disgusting ogre."

George stops laughing and glances at Adam, who is just looking at Matty with his mouth slightly agape, but meets George's eyes when he can tell George is looking at him.

"Um…"

"I know, I know. Shouldn't have said that, the two of you haven't even talked about that or gone on a proper date yet. I know. Sorry. It got you to bugger off, though."

George chews his lip, sitting back down, and for once, Adam is able to be the one to ease the awkward feeling.

"So, George, where would you like me to take you for our first proper date? Oh, and what would be a good evening for you? I am free most evenings this week, surprisingly."

George doesn't lift his head, but a tiny smile forms, and Adam reaches over to loosely lace a few of his fingers with George's. 

He finally looks up, meeting Adam's eyes and says, "wherever you want."

"No, no. This is up to you. I barely get out if it's not work-related. I have no idea where is nice," Adam laughs. "I sit at home with my dog and order takeaways or play guitar when I'm not working."

"Okay, you've got a dog AND you play guitar?" Matty asks.

Adam nods.

"AND you're nice," Matty looks at George and says, "mate, keep him, alright?"

They all laugh and Ross says, "are those the requirements?"

"Dog lover, musician, sweetheart," Matty lists off on his fingers, suddenly getting excited and adding, "and he can cook and make drinks. Yeah, those are boyfriend-material qualities."

Adam can feel George giggling beside him and smiles at Matty.

"Well thanks, mate. Glad you approve. Where should I take him, d'you reckon?"

"No, don't ask his advice," George interjects. "We'll wind up at some underground, tantric poetry slam or some shit like that."

Matty laughs, clapping his hands and says, "fair point. I'm shit at dates."

Ross shakes his head, laughing, and says, "anything as soppy as George with that dance will probably be good."

"Wait, what's your dog called? Can I see a photo of it?" Matty says excitedly. 

Adam reaches for his phone and says, "she's called Stevie."

"She's a very good girl. I got to meet her this morning," George says, leaning forward with a big smile.

Adam slides his phone onto the table, Matty taking it and cooing before showing Ross, John, and Rob.

"She's so adorable," John says with a big smile.

"Just like her daddy," George mumbles.

Adam blushes and takes his phone back.

  
  
  


They sit chatting for a bit before John suddenly asks Adam, "are you going to join us after this?"

Adam looks at George then back at John.

"We're going to this resort hotel for a few days before we leave for Italy, we got a few rooms for people in the party who wanted them, and they have a cool little lounge and stuff. You're definitely invited."

Adam glances at George, who is looking at him hopefully. 

"Um, yeah. I don't have to be anywhere tomorrow. That sounds lovely. Thank you. I just want to call my neighbor really quick, ask her if she's okay with either watching Stevie at her place overnight or just dropping her back at mine."

"Of course!"

"Okay, I'll be right back, let me go call her."

Adam stands and makes his way to the door, stepping out and quickly calling up Carly. 

She is overjoyed that Adam is having fun and has made friends, assuring him that she has no problem keeping Stevie overnight. 

She slips in a comment about 'that George guy from this morning' and he can hear in her implying tone that she seems to have figured it out, but he has no idea how.

He will deal with that some other time.

He thanks her and hangs up just as the door opens beside him.

George steps out, looking at Adam sheepishly. 

"You don't have to feel obligated if you don't want to go. I was going to invite you, but I figured you'd probably want to just go home and relax. I imagine you're tired from today and all. I-.... I would love to spend even more time with you, so I'm biased, but I don't want to pressure you or-"

"George. I absolutely want to go. And Carly was more than happy to keep Stevie overnight. Can we drop by mine so I can change, first, though?"

"Absolutely, love. Anything you want."

George steps close to Adam, gently settling his hands on his waist.

He looks like he's debating something in his head, so Adam asks, "what is it?"

"Oh…. Overnight? Y-you said Carly was happy to keep Stevie overnight. "

"Well, since I have no idea when I'll be home, it would be better to not have to wake her up, right?"

George nods, still chewing his lip.

"George… did you not want me to come? I don't have to if-"

"I absolutely fucking do want you there, that isn't what this is, Adam."

"Okay…"

"I just…" George sighs and says, "I don't know how to say this without it sounding awful."

Adam raises his eyebrows. 

"I really like you, Adam. Like, a lot. That's been established. And I… I worry about- if we go to this hotel, where I have a room, and we're all going to be drinking, and probably smoking, if you're comfortable with that. I actually didn't ask if you're okay with that, just assumed."

"Yes, George. I am more than okay with marijuana," Adam laughs.

"Okay, great. Uh, but yeah. The idea that we'll be at this place, smoking and drinking, and riding the high of this day, and um. I have a room there and you're free to be there overnight. And… I really, REALLY like you. And…" George steps closer, thumbs pressing into Adam's hips, eyes darkening as they meet Adam's. His voice drops low and he says, "I like a lot of things about you, in fact."

Adam's mouth goes dry and he stutters out, "oh- oh. So you- you don't trust yourself, is what you're getting at?"

George bites his lip, meeting Adam's eyes, and he nods slowly.

"Not one bit. Because, honestly, Adam…" George leans in, lips brushing over Adam's neck gently. "I want to do absolutely filthy things to you. I want to make you feel so good. Just… you have no idea."

"I have some idea," Adam says weakly.

George smiles and pulls away.

"But I want to take things slower. I do. For me."

Adam nods, head still swimming.

"I, um. I've been bad at that for long enough. And I- I actually had an experience where I realized I kind of wanted to wait, make it feel, I don't know, special. And she just… basically made it out like I was this weird…. I don't even know. Like, she treated me like I had a mental disability or something, I guess."

Adam immediately feels furious.

"Wait, what? Because you didn't want to have sex right away?"

"Yeah, it… I tried to deal with it for a bit, but I realized it was so unhealthy and toxic and like…. Gaslighting, I guess? It was horrible. I- let's talk about that some other time. My point is, I think I need to take my time more, when I actually like the person, because it's one thing if I have just a casual thing, but every time I've been serious about the person, and not taken my time…." George's eyebrows raise a bit as he sighs. "Well. It's been shit. Let's just say that."

Adam wraps his arms around George's shoulders and draws him closer, kissing his temple.

George's hands fist into the back of Adam's shirt, and Adam is realizing there is a lot more to George than he imagined. The topic of sex is clearly complicated, which Adam is fine with patiently working through that when they're both ready.

"George. I will never pressure you into anything you aren't ready for, and… as much as part of my brain is extremely into the idea, I don't put out on the first date, much less before that," he smiles gently against George's scalp, feeling him giggle a little. 

"Okay, good. I just… really want to do this right with you."

George's hands run up and down Adam's sides slowly before he pulls back a bit, smiling at Adam.

Adam leans in and presses a gentle kiss to his lips and says, "me too."

George offers a smoke, and they stand side by side smoking, Adam tipping his head to lean it against George's shoulder as they do.


	11. Chapter 11

A few hours later, George has his suspenders pulled down, draping around his hips, his shirt unbuttoned over his undershirt, and he drums and sings loudly along to his radio as he drives them to Adam's flat.

Adam spends the entire ride watching him.

_ He is so beautiful.  _

Once they get there, Adam quickly goes to his bedroom, slipping his shoes off, unbuttoning his shirt and shrugging it off before throwing it in the hamper, undershirt quickly following.

He rifles through his clothes, picking a thin, soft black t shirt, setting it on the armchair before finding a pair of black skinny jeans, also setting them on the chair.

After tossing his work trousers into the hamper, he pulls on his jeans.

"Hey, Adam, what's this- oh."

Adam turns to see George standing in the doorway to his bedroom, eyeing him a bit.

Blushing, Adam buttons and zips his jeans, quickly tugging his shirt on.

"Damn," George says with a big smile, coming over to Adam, who still hasn't met his eyes. "You're fuckin fit. I mean, I knew that, but, uh-"

"Alright," Adam says, rolling his eyes and finally looking at George, pulling on a pair of black Chelsea boots. 

"If it will make you feel better, I was going to change my clothes also, and could just go for it, give you a show as well," George holds up his bag.

"That's very thoughtful of you, but the bathroom is through there if you prefer that."

George shrugs, grinning, and kicks his shoes off. He unbuttons his trousers, slipping them off. He sits in the armchair, digging into the bag and pulling out his jeans and t shirt from the morning. He pulls the jeans on and stands, slipping them on completely before buttoning and zipping them.

Adam pretends not to pay attention, definitely not noticing how nice George's thighs are, and says, "what were you asking when you came in here?"

"Um… oh! What's that one photo near the lamp?" George asks, taking his hair out of the bun and messing it up with his fingers.

Adam goes to peek out the door and sees the picture he means. 

He turns back to George, starting to describe the picture, but freezes when George pulls his button up and undershirt off.

He picks up the t shirt and looks up at Adam, whose eyes trail up his body.

George smiles wide and he takes his time pulling his shirt on. He steps into his trainers before placing his dress shoes, pants and shirts in the bag. Putting his hat on, he steps into Adam's space, kissing his cheek, and says, "I'm ready when you are, handsome."

Adam blushes and follows him into the living room.

George points at the picture he was referring to a moment ago.

It's a black and white selfie of Adam holding little puppy Stevie in the park.

Adam says, "That was the day I got Stevie. I took her to a park and ran around with her for a bit and took that picture."

"Uh huh, right. What d'you reckon the odds are of you having a picture in your home where my home is literally in the background?"

Adam looks at George in confusion.

"That's the park across from my and Matty's flat. That's our place in the background, just over your left shoulder."

Adam steps closer to the photo, looking shocked.

"What?! No way! That's insane," he says, looking up at George. "London is too big for a coincidence like this."

"Well, I guess not," George laughs."

"I guess. Wait… did you notice this earlier? This morning, you were looking at the pictures. Did you notice this?"

"No, I wish I had,"George steps up behind Adam, wrapping his arms around him, hooking his chin over Adam's shoulder. "Feels a bit like fate, as cheesy as THAT sounds."

Adam smiles wide.

  
  


A few hours later finds Rob, Matty, Abby, George, and Adam sitting in a hotel lounge, that is, as described, cool, overlooking the river with a lovely view of the Eye.

Kent had abandoned them to chat up some girl at the bar, and they were waiting for Ross and John to come downstairs as they changed their clothes and, presumably, consummated their marriage. 

George has his arm around Adam, tucking him into his side.

He's laughing at something Matty said, and Adam suddenly feels a foot tap him under the table.

Adam's eyes land on Abby, who smiles knowingly.

He looks at her in slight confusion, and she motions to the bar before announcing to the table that she was going to grab another drink.

Adam gets the hint and says, "and I'm going to get us a round of shots," standing up.George starts to protest, but Adam just shushes him, saying, "no, you lot deserve them, and I want to thank and congratulate everyone here. I'm doing this, so accept it."

George smiles up at him warmly, nodding.

He asks everyone what shot they want before he and Abby walk to the bar.

"What is it?" Adam asks.

"You were just gazing lovingly at George while he laughed and I just-… I'm so glad. He really deserves someone who's so obviously head over heels for him and is as lovely as you are. I guess, thank you?"

Adam bites a smile down and eventually says, "he's really incredible and lovely. His laugh is…. On anyone else, it would probably be dumb and obnoxious, but instead it's endearing and charming. And adorable… I'm pretty gone for him."

"That last bit is an extremely obvious statement."

Adam laughs and says, "I haven't figured out anything about him I don't like. And, I mean, all of his friends are so amazing, too. What luck?"

"Well, and all of his friends already like you, so it's fantastic, innit?"

Adam smiles wide at her and says, "I feel like I should really be waiting for something to go wrong. Like, everything has been too easy and great. But I can't even get scared, which is… shocking, considering I'm not the most confident person in social situations."

"Good," she says, and the bartender comes over to them.

They bring the drinks back to the table, and Adam hands out the shots before sitting back beside George, smiling at him before saying, "to all of you," and they clink the glasses.

They fall back into casual conversations, and Adam feels George's eyes on him while he absently is listening to Rob telling a story about his work.

He turns to meet George's eyes and says, "what?"

"I like looking at you."

Adam blushes, laughing and says, "well, I like looking at you, as well."

"What were you and Abby talking about?"

"You," Adam says, honestly.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yep," Adam says, leaning in to kiss George sweetly. 

"Aw!"

They look over and Matty is aiming his phone at them.

"Mate, stop!" George laughs, throwing the stir stick from Adam's drink at Matty.

Matty giggles and says, "shut up, you're going to love me for that when I send you this cute picture."

He messes with his phone and George's buzzes.

George pulls out his phone and opens the message.

Adam leans over to see, as well, and Matty wasn't lying. It's very cute.

"Adam, want me to send it to you, as well?"

"Yes, definitely."

Adam tells Matty his number and George groans.

Matty sends Adam the picture and Adam smiles hard at it, realizing he never looked at the video Alex sent him of George and him dancing.

He leans over to George as he clicks on the message and brings up the video.

"Want to watch this really quick?"

George bites his lip and nods.

"Let's go smoke."

They stand up and start to slip away from the table.

"Where are you going?" Matty asks. 

"Just going for a quick smoke," Adam says. "We'll be back in a bit."

"Oh, I could go for a smoke," Matty says, standing up.

"Same," Abby says.

George sighs a little and says, "right, okay. Let's go."

Adam bites back a smile at how petulant George looks.

He slips his hand into George's, watching a smile form on his face as they start heading outside. 

They go out a sliding glass door to a balcony that expands the stunning view of the river, and George and Adam stand close.

George lights two cigarettes, handing one to Adam who thanks him and pulls out his phone.

George leans close and quietly murmurs, "not as private of a rewatch as I hoped."

Adam meets his eyes and asks, "do you want to wait?"

George shakes his head quickly, saying, "no. I really wanna watch it now."

They huddle in close together, ignoring Matty and Abby as Adam presses play.

Adam leans his head on George's shoulder as they smile around their cigarettes watching it with the sound off.

After the video ends, Adam presses his face into George's shoulder, smiling so wide his cheeks hurt, and he slides his phone into his pocket. 

"So cute…" he mumbles, and George kisses the top of his head.

"Oh, you two wanted to come out to smoke to have a moment and we just intruded," Abby says.

George nods and Adam shrugs, "it's fine. Just hadn't watched the video of us dancing that Alex sent me earlier."

"Um, that was one of the cutest things I've ever seen, by the way," Abby says.

"I need to send you the video I took, G," Matty says.

"Yeah, you do, mate."

Matty starts messing with his phone and George's fingers gently stroke across the side of Adam's head as they smoke, and Abby mentions that Adam and Matty are wearing almost the same outfit. 

Matty looks up and says, "no, Adam's top is definitely more expensive and quality, though, I think we have literally the same boots on. Cos?"

Adam nods, laughing. 

"Yep. I do really like your outfit, obviously. Look at mine."

"Yeah, when I'm not working, I want to wear the furthest thing from slacks and a crisp, clean button up."

George chuckles and says, "you look incredible in both outfits, to be fair. But I like this a lot. It suits you."

Matty throws his hands up, giving George a dry look, and saying, "why don't I get a compliment when we're basically dressed the same?"

"Because I don't care what YOU'RE wearing, mate."

Abby snorts and Matty makes a face at George before going back to his phone.

Adam shakes his head at their antics.

"Matty, what size do you wear? We look about the same clothes size, but what shoe size?"

"What, are you about to gift me some old clothes to win George's affections?"

Adam laughs and says, "No, I'm curious."

Matty thinks and gives Adam his answer in terms of what size he wears depending on what style of shoe.

"How do you feel about a pair of white and burgundy leather Chelsea boots, then?"

"I'm sure I could find something to pair them with."

"Well, in that case, I will make sure to bring them by when I pick George up for our date on…?" Adam looks at George, who grins like mad.

"Monday night? 'Round 7?" George offers.

"Yes," Adam smiles, looking back to Matty. "Then."

".... Mate, did you just use shoes as a means to solidify the schedule for a date?"

"Killing two birds with one stone," Adam shrugs.

"Efficient," George smiles at him.

"We never actually set it up earlier, and I wanted to make sure we did."

"We absolutely would have, luv."

"And, I've had these boots for ages, they were a well-intentioned gift. I've never really known what to wear them with. I just don't know that I pull them off, and I feel like you could," Adam says to Matty. 

"Well, thanks. I'll give them a shot."

"Yeah, 'cos they're Saint Laurent and it's a pity nobody is making use of them right now. They're just sat in the back of my closet in a box."

George, Matty, and Abby all look at him in surprise.

"You've got a pair of probably £700 shoes sitting in your closet that you're just giving away to Matty?" Abby says.

"He'll make better use of them. And they were a gift. I didn't spend any money on them. I doubt they were bought even close to face value."

"Got any more designer clothes you don't want that might fit me?" She laughs.

He chuckles and says, "I doubt it, but I will check."

She smiles at his sarcasm.

George just shakes his head at all of it, wrapping his arms around Adam's middle, resting his cheek against his shoulder.

"We should go back in soon. Left Rob all alone in there."

George chuckles and says, "what about Kent?"

"That ship has sailed. That girl is definitely interested," Abby says.

They all hum, starting to go back inside.

  
  
  
  


A bit later, Ross and John had joined them to applause finally, and everyone proceeded to start drinking more, George pulling out a bowl and packing it, handing it to John to start.


	12. Chapter 12

After an hour or so, they'd discovered the karaoke bar near the lounge, and as Matty and Abby dueted 'Don't Want to Miss A Thing', George and Adam slipped outside.

They lean against the wall on the balcony, shoulders pressing together, and Adam laughs, looking at George and says, "Matty was on to me yesterday."

"What's this?"

"Y'know. With the Old Compton bit."

George gives Adam a dramatic expression of pure shock and says, "no! You're serious?"

Adam nods and says, "I worked this basement club. Bartending. Wore cutoff shorts, knee socks and trainers, and matching baby blue suspenders and bandana. And I wore a big name tag pinned to the suspenders that read, 'Hello my name is Baby Adam' and it was probably the best money I've ever made, including now."

George is shaking with laughter by the time Adam stops talking.

"I would never be telling you this if I wasn't a bit pissed."

George can't seem to get his laughter under control and it sends Adam into a fit of giggles.

When George finally catches his breath, he says, "please, tell me there are pictures of that, luv."

"Thankfully, none that I am aware of."

"You can't ever tell Matty about that, he will somehow find one. He'll make it his goal to find photographic proof."

"I hope if there ever were photos of that, they've been lost to time."

George starts giggling again before leaning in and says, "maybe, I'll just have to settle for having you recreate the look for me in private, then."

Adam looks him in the eyes with what would be a serious expression, but his small smile gives him away.

"Absolutely never going to happen. So sorry, but nope."

George laughs and says, "fair enough."

"George, I realized earlier that I actually have no idea what you do for a living."

"Oh, true. Um, yeah, I write and produce music. Matty and I do."

"Okay. So I guessed correctly, then. Nice."

George smiles and quirks an eyebrow up at him.

"Alex asked earlier, and I said I didn't know, but I assumed it was music."

George snakes his arms loosely around Adam's waist and says, "it's pretty much the only marketable skill I have. I guess I can shoot a three-pointer, but my body is all fucked up, so sports aren't much of an option."

Adam turns to meet his eyes and says, "what do you mean?"

"I have tendonitis and joint problems in general. It's manageable, but…" he shrugs. "And I've been trying out all kinds of treatments over the years, some stuff helps. Weed helps, too," he finishes with a chuckle.

Adam nods and says, "I'm sorry, though. That's shit."

"Eh. It is what it is. I'm alright."

He presses his nose against Adam's shoulder, inhaling deeply before turning his head to rest his cheek against the spot, breath ghosting across the back of Adam's neck.

"You smell nice," he mumbles.

Adam smiles, looking at him out of the corner of his eyes the best he can.

"Do I?"

George nods.

Adam looks down at his hands as he absently traces shapes on the back of George's hands with his fingertips.

  
  
  


Eventually, they make their way back inside, George being dragged on stage pretty quickly by Matty.

Adam sits on a couch by John.

Ross reaches across John's lap and hands Adam a beer, and he thanks Ross, clinking his bottle to Ross' and then John's before taking a swig.

He's struck suddenly by how comfortable he is already with all of them. They're very easy to be around.

It's not that Adam finds most people difficult to be around, it's just that he usually feels just a bit out of place with most people beyond a surface interaction. 

He can't even remember the last time new people ever made him feel like he fit perfectly into place within their circle before.

Jamie is his closest friend. Everyone else is basically just a loose friend.

He already feels almost as comfortable with these people that he does with Jamie. Almost. And he is shockingly not shitting himself about that.

Adam smiles to himself before looking up to see Matty and George singing and dancing ridiculously to a Take That song, and George can't control his laughter as Matty grinds against him theatrically before shimmying away.

Adam smiles so wide his cheeks hurt and he's so happy he stepped out of his comfort zone and came along tonight.

After their song ends, George and Matty come flop down beside Adam, breathlessly giggling.

George immediately laces his hand with Adam's and Adam looks down at their hands with a smile as George is laughing and saying something to Matty that causes him to start laughing hard, clapping and falling against George's side.

Adam just smiles, watching them.

He kind of loves their friendship already. They're so in tune with one another and show affection with ease.

Adam feels a light tap on his shoulder and turns to meet John's eyes.

"You're not feeling weird with how those two are, are you?"

Adam smiles and shakes his head.

"Good, because this is like, casual. We've definitely walked in on them spooning in George's bed and stuff," John laughs.

Adam doesn't miss the slightly nervous look on John's face.

"That's fine. I get that they're ridiculously close, and, honestly? I kind of adore how easily George shows affection with you all. When you and him were dancing earlier, and he had his cheek on your head? That was so sweet. I like that he's quick to be affectionate with the people he loves."

John smiles wide and Adam hears Ross mumble, "see? Worried over nothing."

"I'm so glad to hear that you appreciate that about him. We've all lost track of how many times those two have had to say, 'no, he's not my boyfriend' to people. Like, we're all very physically affectionate people with each other, but those two especially."

"I would say 'the two of us especially', but…" Ross says, grinning.

John smiles and swats him.

"I meant in a platonic way, silly."

Adam smiles as John leans over to kiss Ross.

The mumble 'I love you's at each other before John turns back to Adam and says, "anyway. I hope their bond never feels threatening or anything. You never have to be jealous of Matty. As close as they are, and the fact that they're both into men, I can easily see it could happen- has happened before, George's exes feeling like they're always second to Matty, and Matty's exes feeling that way about George, or like, intimidated, I guess, by how close they are… but…"

Adam nods as John trails off, smiling, and says, "they have a really unique bond. It's okay. I'm sure there will be a point that it catches me a bit uncomfortable, but I get it, on a rational level."

John nods and says, "good. And if it ever does, just be honest with him about that feeling. He'll probably never change how he is with Matty, but he'll at least care about how it may affect you."

Adam nods and thanks John, looking back at George and Matty, who have calmed down a bit, and Matty is now just leaned against George, who has his arm around his friend's shoulders.

George turns to look at Adam, smiling wide and squeezing his hand.

"Having fun, luv?"

Adam nods and George kisses him quickly.

"Good. I'm so happy you came with us."

"I am too, George."

  
  
  


After a while, Abby and Rob both call it a night, heading up to their respective rooms, and it seems like Ross and John may not be too far behind them.

George leans over to Adam at the bar, quietly saying, "are you staying? I can get you a cab home, if that's what you prefer."

Adam chews his lip and softly says, "what would you rather do?"

George looks down at his hands and says, "I want you to be comfortable. So it's up to you, luv." He looks up at Adam after a while of Adam not responding, and finally says, "I would love it if you stay, but I won't be hurt if you don't. I still am not sure if I trust myself to behave."

"Maybe I should head home, then. For both of us?"

George chews his lip, nodding.

At that moment, Matty comes up, giggling, and slings his arms around both of them.

"So, what's our plans, boys? Adam, why don't you come stay with George and I? We have two beds, and I can fuck off for a bit if you two want some alone time," he finishes with a suggestive wink.

Adam laughs and says, "I should probably just head home, I think."

"Aw, no George snuggles tonight? He's a good cuddler."

Adam glances at George, who is looking down, still chewing his lip.

"Well, that is enticing…. Maybe I will stay, after all."

George looks up at him, and Adam can see the smile behind his surprise.

Matty claps happily and says, "yes, good! And just kick me out whenever necessary, lads, honestly."

Adam smiles and Matty bounds off toward Ross and John.

"Is that okay?"

George nods quickly, saying, "I just want to be smart about us."

"Well, you failed to mention that Matty was sharing a room with you, so, I'm thinking maybe him being there will make it less tempting and we can be good boys," Adam grins, finishing his drink.

He can see George smiling out of the corner of his eye.

They say their goodnights to Ross and John, who head to the elevator, arms around each other's waists.

"Gosh, they're so cute," Adam says.

"Aren't they? Today was so lovely," Matty says, looking suspiciously teary-eyed.

"So happy to see them married after all this time," George smiles, also looking a bit teary.

Matty shakes his head, swiping at his eyes and says, "what do you two say to one more drink, a smoke, then head upstairs?"

"Sounds good to me," Adam says.

George buys their last round, despite Matty and Adam protesting, and after they get their drinks, George tells them to watch his drink while he runs to the bathroom.

As he heads off, Matty leans in and says, "I didn't make things uncomfortable, did I? What I said about leaving if you want to be alone?"

"No, Matty. Not at all. We, um. We probably will be better off if you're there, I think."

"Yeah, G is really intent on taking his time. Properly dating you," Matty smiles around his drink. "He's very taken with you, mate. It's really good to see him like this. He doesn't let himself get too serious with people usually, but when he does fall for someone, it's hard and fast. They have to be really special, though. And you're already SUCH a step up from anyone he's ever taken such a liking to before. You're actually a good person, for starters. And so genuine. You don't seem uncomfortable with how him and I are, which has been a problem for both of us in the past. I think that…. It's early to be saying this, but from what I've seen so far, you're seemingly perfect for him."

Adam still can't help feeling as stunned as he did when John's mum said a similar thing earlier.

"I-I am very surprised at myself. I've never gotten this comfortable with anyone, probably. Definitely nowhere near this quickly. I'm a bit of a romantic, so I always want to, but I can't…" Adam looks off in the direction George went. "It's terrifying, but I am so happy I've… taken a risk, I guess. I really like him. He's special, isn't he?"

When Adam looks back, Matty is smiling wide, and his eyebrows are drawn together. He looks like he might be tearing up again.

"Matty?"

"Sorry, mate. Bit of a crybaby today, and the drinks haven't helped," he chuckles, sniffling and looking down. "It's also just… really good to hear someone actually appreciate George like you do. He's my favorite person, and he's been treated badly. And he has fucked up a bit, as well, to be honest. But he's such a lovely person, and it's just relieving to know someone who he fancies really… sees him."

Adam smiles sadly, putting a hand on Matty's shoulder.

"I'm such a soppy shit. I love George to bits, and I love that he met you. You're lovely, and he really deserves that," Matty says, leaning against Adam's shoulder, and Adam wraps his arm around his thin shoulders.

"I hope I can be what he needs. I'd like that."

"I bet you will. Just please don't dance around like Ross and John did, mate. God, I can't handle that again."

They both chuckle and hear someone clear their throat behind them.

Both of them turn and see George looking a little bit like he might cry, too.

He quickly takes the few steps to Matty, wrapping him up in a tight hug- Adam is pretty sure he heard Matty's back crack- and Matty hugs him back almost as tight.

Adam can hear George mumbling something in a low voice to Matty, but can't make out what he says.

Matty's fists tighten their hold on George's shirt and George mumbles something else, making the other man laugh suddenly.

After a bit, Matty kisses George's cheek and they finally pull apart, both wiping at their eyes before smiling wide at each other.

Adam smiles, loving seeing this tender moment between the two friends.

George looks over at Adam, smiling.

"Sorry, we're, um…" George sniffles and rubs his hand on his face.

"Don't apologize. Either of you," Adam says, looking between them both. "You two have a beautiful friendship. That's so special and important. You care about each other so much. I'm so absolutely bowled over from seeing that interaction. That was fucking precious."

George smiles and hesitantly wraps Adam in a strong hug.

"Thank you," he softly whispers to Adam.

George eventually pulls away and sits beside Adam, sipping his drink.

"Oh, bloody hell, lads," Matty groans, rubbing his face. "Today has been such a powerfully emotional day. I think that's enough of me crying."

He lets out a little chuckle, and Adam smiles at him.

George huffs and, smiling, says, "got me going, too, you dickhead."

Matty laughs and Adam asks, "how much did you cry during the ceremony?"

"Oh, I was a mess. Just so bad."

George leans closer and says, "I couldn't look at you or John half the time! John was nearly sobbing at one point."

Adam smiles at them as they start delving into the details of the ceremony for him, since he didn't personally witness it.

  
  
  
  


"Oh, for fuck's sake. What time is it?" Matty groans as the elevator doors open and he half stumbles out into the hallway.

George wraps his free arm around Matty's waist to steady him as they head to the room, his other hand squeezing Adam's.

Adam looks at his phone and says, "oof. It's gone 2 already? God, in just a few hours, I'll have been up for 24 hours."

George stops to look at Adam in shock, jerking Matty to a halt suddenly.

"Oh my god, Adam…. Let's get you to bed, luv."

Matty giggles and says, "bet you're gonna sleep past 9am, now."

"You've already disrupted my schedule, look at you," Adam grins at George.

George looks down, clearly feeling guilty. 

Adam sighs and says, "hey, that was meant to be cute. A good thing."

"Yeah, like 'you're so important, I've let you disrupt my norm'. I got it, Adam. He didn't get it," Matty trails off into a mumble.

One more drink at the bar didn't wind up staying 'one more'. It was two more, and then two shots, as a random guy came up and started chatting Matty up and buying him drinks.

Adam and George give them space, ordering just one more drink for themselves and going down the bar a bit.

But after a while, they hear Matty say, "alright, well that's disgusting. We're done here," and start standing up.

The guy goes to grab Matty's wrist, but George is already standing over the guy, grabbing his shoulder.

Adam sucks in a breath at how George looks when he turns to Adam and says, "can you take Matty toward the door? I need a quick word."

Adam nods and he and Matty start out of the lounge, stopping in the hallway toward the lobby. 

Matty sinks onto a bench and says, "he's not much of a fighter, but he can play the intimidating, tall, protective friend well. And he can be scary."

Adam nods and says, "yeah, yeah…. He's got the 'stormy face' down, huh?"

Matty grins at Adam.

"It's really sexy, innit? Trust me, I know."

Adam sheepishly laughs and the guy from the bar quickly comes out of the lounge, making his way toward the elevators quickly, not noticing Adam and Matty.

George steps out a few moments after him and looks over at the two of them sitting on the bench.

He breaks into a grin and comes over to them.

"I got that one almost pissing himself! That was the best one so far. How do you attract all these fuckin muppets, Matty? Like a magnet for them. Whatever, you alright, then?"

George grabs his hands and pulls Matty up to his feet, steadying him.

"I am fine, thank you. Always coming to my rescue. Probably could've got myself out of that one, but-"

"But you didn't need to and I wanted to take care of you. Just because I've met someone great, doesn't mean I forget about you. I'll always w-"

"Oh my gosh, stop, G. You sound like the worst Disney Channel movie shit. I get it, you love me. I love you, too. Let's smoke, fuckin hell."

Once the three of them came back inside and to the elevator, Matty was feeling those drinks that were added on in that short time.

George sighs as Matty trips over his own shoe a bit, and drops Adam's hand to put it on Matty's shoulder, steadying him before they continue. 

Adam gently says, "who has the room key?"

George fishes it out of his pocket and hands it to Adam, who opens the door when they get there.

He flips the lights on, and makes sure the path to the bed is clear.

George drops Matty onto the bed with a bounce, and Matty giggles before flopping back and squirming up the bed. He lifts one leg, wiggling his toe at George. 

Adam doesn't miss George's smile before he sighs and rolls his eyes, tugging Matty's shoes off.

"Bag?"

Without opening his eyes, Matty wrestles his bag off and hands it to George, who opens it and roots through it, finding a bottle.

He pops it open and slides two pills out, handing them to Matty before quickly grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, handing that to him as well.

"Hangover prevention," George mumbles to Adam.

Matty takes the pills with the water, and sets the water bottle on the table before wriggling out of his shirt, rolling over and saying, "Thanks, G. Goodnight, you two."

George pulls the blankets out from under him and covers him up, Matty instantly worming completely under the duvet.

Chuckling, George looks up at Adam and says, "and that's all for him until at least noon."

Adam chuckles and sits on the other bed, taking his shoes off, slipping them under the edge of the bed.

George comes over to hesitantly sit beside him, looking awkward and anxious. 

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

"For…?"

"I know how I am with Matty and I just-"

"George, it doesn't bother me. I already said that I love you guys' friendship, and I mean that. I'm not jealous or anything like that."

"I just… dropping your hand to deal with him… I don't…."

"Okay, but you should definitely have both hands available when helping a drunk person."

George shrugs and chews his lip.

Adam slips his fingers under George's chin, tipping his head up to meet his eyes. 

"You have both hands free now."

George bites back a smile and Adam frowns a bit.

"Wow, that was very suggestive, wasn't it?"

Laughing, George stands, offering both hands to Adam, who he pulls off the bed.

They pull the blankets back and George pulls off his shoes and socks as Adam takes his socks off, stuffing them into his shoes before laying propped on the pillows.

He looks up as George shimmies out of his jeans.

"Adam, I know we're trying to be good, and ease temptation, but I'm not sleeping in jeans."

Adam laughs and says, "well, fair enough," before pulling his off as well.

George lays down and pulls Adam close, saying, "I'm pretty sure neither of us even have enough energy left in us to do anything."

"Oh, fuck no. I'm not going to be awake long, I think," Adam says, snuggling closer to George, resting his forehead against his cheek and letting out a yawn.

George turns his head to press a gentle kiss to Adam's forehead.

"I'm so happy you came with us. I'm so happy I met you yesterday," George says softly.

Adam smiles wide and says, "me too."

He tips his head to press a kiss to George's lips, and George shifts, deepening the kiss with a surprising burst of energy. 

Adam's head spins as George moves to be just slightly over him, kissing him deeply.

They lay side by side, George's hand toying with Adam's hair as he leans over him, Adam's hands on George's side and neck, keeping him in place over him as they kiss.

George moves slightly, pressing Adam down into the bed a bit, and Adam lets out a soft, unexpected whimper. 

Almost immediately, George pulls back, breaking the kiss, looking down at Adam with an expression of pleasant surprise.

"Receptive…" he grins.

Adam flushes and bites his lip for a moment before George presses a quick, soft kiss to his lips, moving back to fully lay down.

"Mm, let's sleep before I have too tough of a time stopping," George says with a smile.

Adam bites back a smile, curling back into George's side.

George's fingers gently stroke over Adam's knuckles, and Adam listens to his soft breathing for a while before he feels himself drifting off, only noticing George shift to turn the light out.


	13. Chapter 13

Sunlight shines through a little crack in the curtains, and Adam stirs gently, quickly realizing he's on his side with an arm wrapped around him from behind, another under his head.

Breath ghosts across his neck and he moves slightly as it tickles him.

A nose presses into the back of his shoulder and the arm under his head moves to wrap around his collarbone, the other arm tightening around his middle.

"Not yet," George mumbles into his shoulder, rubbing his face against Adam to bury it deeper.

Adam smiles, letting his eyes close again.

He drifts in and out of sleep for a bit, just enjoying being held like this.

It's been a long time since he woke up beside another person, and he doesn't know if he's ever woke up to being held so nicely.

He never wants to move.

Eventually, George moves and stretches, pressing a kiss to Adam's jaw.

"'Morning. How're you feeling, luv?"

Adam shifts and rolls over onto his back, head propped on George's upper arm.

Adam feels warmth blossom in his chest at how soft and adorable a sleepy George looks.

"Good. Like a little happy kitty," he says, giggling a bit.

George chuckles softly and leans closer to lazily kiss him.

Adam smiles against his lips and slides his hand up to tangle his fingers with George's beside his head.

George trails his fingertips of his other hand up Adam's stomach and chest, making Adam break the kiss to giggle.

"Mm, ticklish?"

Adam nods and George runs his fingers back down, making Adam squirm.

"No," he whines, and George stops, resting his hand on Adam's chest, giggling a little.

A pillow smacks George in the back of the head and Matty groans, "it's way too early."

George rolls onto his back, hurling the pillow back, but missing the messy dark hair poking out from the blankets.

A hand slips out of the blankets and flips them off.

Adam chuckles softly, snuggling against George again.

George presses his lips to his temple and murmurs, "do you want to stay like this or are you up?"

"I'm up. But I'm also very cozy in your arms, bugging Matty," Adam grins, getting a giggle out of George. 

Matty groans.

"I'm kidding. Let's go get breakfast and let Matty sleep."

"Okay," George smiles.

They slowly get out of bed, pulling on their jeans, and Adam looks at the clock, smiling and softly saying, "Matty, you were right."

Matty finally pokes his head up out of the blankets to look at Adam in confusion.

"I did sleep past 9," he says, motioning to the clock.

Matty looks over at the clock.

9:15.

He rolls his eyes and makes a shooing motion with his fingers before burying himself in the cave of pillows and duvet he's made.

Adam sits on the bed to put his socks and shoes on, as George flops down on Matty's bed to do the same, partially collapsing Matty's cave, and getting smacked in the back repeatedly as a long whine comes from the blankets.

George giggles the whole time and Adam shakes his head.

Once they stand and make their way to the bathroom to take turns brushing their teeth, Adam softly asks Matty if he'd like them to bring him any food back.

"Oh, god no. I'm dying. I think food is a terrible plan. I will eventually drag myself into the shower, have a smoke and a coffee, then I MIGHT be able to eat after that."

Adam laughs and joins George, who hands him the little single-wrapped complimentary toothbrush, his own hanging out of his mouth.

He smiles at George, thanking him and they brush their teeth quickly before heading out of the room.

George takes Adam's hand as they walk to the elevator. 

The hotel has a little restaurant by the lounge, and they slip into a booth, looking through the menus, asking the waitress for two coffees to start.

They're mostly silent as they look over the menus, ordering their breakfasts, still waking up.

Adam stirs his coffee absently, and a straw wrapper shoots into his face, George giggling.

He smiles and looks up at George with an eyebrow raised.

George pops the straw into his water and takes a sip, smiling at Adam around the straw, and Adam feels his chest swell again.

_ He's so fucking cute. _

Adam smiles back and takes George's silverware, unrolling it and setting everything but the napkin down.

He glances up to see George curiously watching him as he begins folding the napkin.

After a few seconds, he sets a little origami dog in front of George, who grins like mad, and picks it up, "saying, he's handsome. I love him."

Adam grins back at him, saying, "what's his name?"

George thinks a bit before laughing and saying, "Baby Adam."

Adam buries his face into his hands and says, "god, I regret telling you about that."

"No, what if his name is…. Dama. Just the letters of your name rearranged."

"Sounds like a daedric warrior."

George laughs and says, "good."

Their food arrives, and they start eating, talking about various, casual topics, and Adam loves how easily they chat.

They finish eating, and sit drinking coffee, talking.

There's a lull in the conversation, and Adam chews his lip before gently pushing his mug across the table.

George is about to question it when Adam stands and quickly moves to slide into the booth beside George. 

Adam meets his eyes and sees the goofiest smile as George wraps an arm around Adam's shoulders.

They quietly sip their coffee, and Adam knows he probably needs to be heading home- Carly might be wondering where he is and why he hasn't picked up Stevie, yet- but he just isn't ready.

"Awww, look at this!"

They turn and see John and Ross coming up to them, hand in hand.

"Hi, boys! Mind if we join?" John asks.

"Please, you don't have to ask, mate."

They slide into the booth and Ross asks, "have you eaten yet?"

George nods and says, "yeah, just having coffee now."

"I'm so hungry," John says. "Is the food good?"

"Pretty good, yeah. Didn't expect you two up yet, would have waited for you."

"Where's Matty? Still buried in the blankets, I reckon?"

Adam laughs and nods as their waitress comes back, refilling their coffees, and setting two more mugs down for Ross and John.

"Sorry, luv, the newlyweds decided to join us. Is it alright if they're on the same bill?" George asks her with a charming smile, leaning forward. "I'll take care of it all after," he adds a wink.

Adam swears he sees her blush a little.

"Of course, that's absolutely fine," she says a little flustered before turning to Ross and John to congratulate them and take their orders.

"Okay, what was that?" Adam says quietly to George with a laugh. 

"What?" 

"The flirting?"

"It makes me feel like less of a dick for doing anything that might make her job annoying if I make her smile."

Adam chuckles and leans against him.

"Wait, I didn't make you jealous, did I?"

Adam decides to not admit that, yes, he got a little bit jealous, and opts for snuggling against George, head resting on George's shoulder, and hooking his pinky around George's. 

"Whatever. I don't see her waking up wrapped in your arms," he mumbles.

George gapes, laughing a bit, and saying, "wow. Well, no, you won't. I don't want anyone else curled in my arms, smelling like fabric softener and minty tea."

He drops a kiss on Adam's head, glancing up to see the waitress smile at them before walking away.

"It's my shampoo," Adam says softly.

"It's nice."

"Thanks."

Adam glances up at John and Ross, who are grinning at them. 

"You two really are adorable."

Adam smiles and says, "coming from the loveliest couple, that's an amazing compliment. But, alas, I should head home soon. I need to get my pup."

"Oh. I was going to drive you after, if that's okay?" George says.

"I can wait, then," Adam smiles, laying his head back down against George's shoulder. 

"You're sure?"

Adam nods and says to John and Ross, "what are your plans for the day?" 

"We are going to a museum later, then a private boat ride," John says excitedly. 

"Sounds lovely," Adam grins, and George's hand comes up to thread through his hair gently.

  
  
  
  


George texts Matty that he's going to take Adam home, and they say their goodbyes to John and Ross.

Ross quietly tells Adam that they really hope to be seeing a lot of him as John and George talk for a moment.

"Me too," Adam smiles at Ross after a quick glance at George. 

Ross smiles and turns back to John as they say they'll see him later.

George opens Adam's door again, grinning at the look Adam gives him.

When they arrive at Adam's place, George leans across the console to give Adam a kiss.

They part and George chews his lip.

"George. Do you want to come up for a bit?"

"Well, if you insist," George says, trying to hide a smile.

"You just want to play with Stevie, don't you?"

"That may be part of it."

Adam laughs and gets out of the truck.

They go up the stairs and knock on Carly's door.

After a few moments of listening to the dogs skittering around, she opens it, smiling at the two of them.

"Oh, hi, again," she says to George. 

"Hello, Carly."

Adam tries his best not to blush a little when she meets his eyes.

George squats to say hello to Daisy and Stevie as they come out into the hallway to sniff him.

Adam bites his lip, looking back at Carly, who's smiling.

'I want details,' she mouths at him, handing him Stevie's leash and harness.

Adam nods and says, "thank you so much again, Carly."

He reaches down to say goodbye to Daisy as Stevie jumps on him, wanting attention from her daddy.

George follows Adam and Stevie down the hall after they say goodbye to Carly and Daisy.

Adam lets them into his flat, and Stevie immediately runs and jumps onto the couch, hopping around making her excited little huffing noises, stopping briefly to look at Adam and George with a big, goofy smile. 

George grins and walks over to the couch, flopping down beside her, giggling as she climbs all over him and playfully wrestles her on his lap.

Adam leans against the doorway to the kitchen, watching them and, he knows he's fucked already, but this is all he can handle.

Maybe it's too soon to be in love, but he already knows there's no point in fighting against how he's already started falling and couldn't stop if he tried.

  
  
  
  


Adam slowly stirs awake, not able to place the noise he's hearing.

He props himself up on the bed and looks around, noticing it's dark in his room now.

George shifts beside him and Stevie readjusts how her head is angled at his feet, opting to drape her head over the back of George's calf.

Adam reaches over to his bedside table to turn the lamp on its dimmest setting, careful not to disturb either of them.

He looks over, eyes scanning up George's smooth back, wanting to reach out and trace his spine down to where the blankets have pooled at his hips with a fingertip, but doesn't want to wake him.

Adam hears the noise again and looks around.

It's coming from the armchair for sure.

Adam gently slides out of bed and quietly pads over to the chair, pulling his shirt back on.

He hears it again and realizes it's a phone vibrating.

George's phone. 

He scrambles to find it before it stops ringing.

He finally does, and a picture of Matty blowing smoke at the camera pops up.

_ Shit. _

He chews his lip and slips into the bathroom, closing the door and answers.

"G, what the fuck? Where the fuck have you been, mate? I've been ringing you for ages. I sent you loads of texts. I've been n-"

"Matty," Adam says, trying to get him to slow down.

"Adam? What the- Where's George? Oh my god, has something happened?!"

"No! No, he's asleep. I didn't want to wake him. Well, I debated whether I should wake him or just answer for a minute."

"O-okay, so what's going on?"

"Nothing. He's asleep, we fell asleep earlier. I guess we slept longer than we meant."

There's a long pause, long enough for Adam to pull the phone away to check if the connection has been lost.

"What were you guys doing before falling asleep?"

Adam sighs and rubs his temples.

"Adam, I thought you both were wanting to take your time!"

"Matty, we didn't-" Adam quiets his voice again, saying, "we didn't have sex, jesus. We were just… we were just laying in bed, talking, and, um. And kissing. A lot. Shirtless. But that's all. We behaved ourselves without anyone's help. Well. Stevie's, I guess. She kind of killed the mood at least twice."

Matty giggles and says, "Okay. Well… that's good. I mean, I wouldn't be upset if you lot changed your minds, but I just know you both seemed intent on taking your time."

"Well…. I feel like we may reevaluate that, at this point…. I admitted to him that I'm already falling in love with him. And he told me that's exactly why he's nervous, because he's already-"

"Completely fucking gone for you? Yeah. I know."

"Yeah…" Adam shakily exhales, but smiles.

"Okay, well…. I guess now that I know he's safe and happy, I'm fine. Ignore all the texts to your phone, too. And let him know I took a cab home a few hours ago."

"Oh shit. He was your ride."

"Honestly, Adam, if I had to take a cab because he's happily snogging the guy he's falling in love with, that's fine with me. And when you tell him, please make sure he doesn't beat himself up about 'abandoning me' or whatever nonsense."

"I can't make any promises that he won't."

Matty starts saying something, but the rapid knock on the bathroom door catches his full attention. 

Adam winces, and slowly opens the bathroom door.

George nervously wrings his hands and brings rambling.

"Hey, so, I didn't mean to sleep this long. I was going to be our ride home, and we were supposed to be out of that room by 2pm, and I just left Matty all alone there, and I can't find my phone-"

Adam holds his phone up.

"Wh-why do you have my phone? In the bathroom…?"

"Matty's on it. I woke up and heard it vibrating. I- I didn't want to wake you. You looked so peaceful and…. Um."

Adam blushes a little as he hands George the phone opening the door all the way.

George takes the phone with a grin and leans in pressing a searing kiss to Adam's mouth before backing up and bringing the phone up to his ear.

"Hey, Matty. I'm so sorry, mate. I- Oh. No. What? Oh, I'm well aware," he looks at Adam again and says, "yes, he is that. Okay, I'll be home in a bit. Yep."

He hangs up and leans against the doorway to the bathroom, looking at Adam with raised eyebrows and a small smile.

"Wh-what?"

"Adam. Did you go through my phone?"

"What? No! I just answered Matty's call. I mean, I'm sure your phone is locked, right? So how would I even-"

"It's fine, I mean, I guess I wouldn't mind if you did, just…"

"No, I just answered the phone, I swear."

George nods and says, "so… I probably should go home. But, uh…. I'm really glad I came up 'for a bit'. That was, uh, very worth it…"

He settles his hands on Adam's hips, pulling him closer, and Adam smiles shyly, saying, "well, anytime you want to roll around in my bed making out again, just let me know. I will make sure that opportunity arises again."

George grins and pulls Adam in with a hand on the back of his neck to connect their mouths, kissing him hot and intense.

Adam feels his legs wobble right as George finally breaks the kiss.

He watches George go over to the armchair and find his shirt, watching the muscles in his back and shoulders as he picks it up and turns it so he is able to pull it on.

Adam turns the light all the way on, and dramatically 'awws' in disappointment when George pulls the shirt on.

He turns around to smile at Adam, giggling and walking over to him.

"Sorry, luv. I'll take it off for you again soon. Promise."

He wraps his arms around Adam, pulling him in for a kiss and Adam mentally shivers.

George mumbles against his lips, "Do you have to take Stevie outside? I could go with and just leave from there?"

Adam nods and says, "yes. Let's absolutely delay you leaving a little longer."

George laughs and they part, smiling dorky and wide at each other before hunting for their socks and shoes.

As they're taking Stevie down the back steps to the yard, they run into Carly, taking Daisy back there.

Adam opens the door and both dogs run out into the yard.

George holds the door open for Carly before stepping outside, standing beside Adam, but keeping his distance a bit, not touching.

"So, good wedding yesterday?"

"Oh, it was so lovely. So happy for my mates, they're the loveliest people and seeing them get married was just… so incredibly wonderful," George says, smiling.

Adam smiles and looks down before looking back at Carly, who is biting back a smile.

"Well, that is so sweet. But I actually kind of meant some other good that came from it."

George meets her eyes, then glances at Adam, who's just trying to keep his composure. 

"Um," George rubs the back of his neck and shifts.

Adam sighs and says, "So, I meant to ask you, how did you seem to have guessed when I called to ask if you were okay with keeping Stevie?"

"Oh, you should have seen what I saw when you came to drop Stevie off yesterday morning! The way he looked at you when you weren't paying attention? And the way you looked at him when he was saying goodbye to the pups? Adam, I'm not blind. And when you said you got invited along last night, I made an educated guess, and then look who was dropping you off today? And is still here, looking sleepy and disheveled like you both have definitely been in bed between then and now?"

Adam is blushing furiously, but still smiling.

He can't meet George's eyes, but he can tell he's got his hand over his mouth and might be giggling.

"Okay, yes. We like each other quite a lot. But you're making it sound a lot more sexual than it was."

"I can see where you'd assume," George says, stepping close, hooking his chin over Adam's shoulder and wrapping his arms around Adam, who brings his hands up to them. "But, we actually like each other, so we're behaving at least a bit. Have to at least go on one proper date first, yeah? Maybe a few. But at least the one."

Carly giggles and says, "well, good. I'm glad to see when people like, but also respect each other. Not that it couldn't be that way if you did jump into sex, but if you're both agreeing to take time, that's healthy too."

Adam blushes again and smiles at her.

"Thank you."

"Of course."

"Well, as much as I hate to leave, I should probably get home. That gate leads to the street, yeah?"

Carly nods, explaining the latch.

Adam turns in his arms and kisses him gently and quickly.

"I'll see you tomorrow night," he mumbles.

George grins and nods, "I'll text you my address, though I know you can easily find the place."

Adam chuckles and says, "yep. Goodnight, George."

"Goodnight, Adam," he presses another kiss to Adam's lips before they part and he waves to Carly.

She waves back and Adam smiles.

They watch George say goodbye to the pups before he slips out the gate.

They stand in silence for a moment before Carly says, "I'm happy for you. Never seen you so immediately taken with anyone before."

"I never have been," Adam says quickly.

He winces and looks at her. 

"Oh, stop. Wouldn't have done you any good to be that taken with me, would it?"

"True."

"Anyway, I would've wound up in the way for that, and George seems like a good fit for you, innit?"

Adam smiles and starts delving into SOME details, leaving obvious things out.

After a bit, they head back inside, and Adam's phone buzzes.

He checks it as he follows Carly up the stairs.

'I know it sounds dumb but i miss u a bit already'

Adam bites back a smile and sends back, 'not dumb. I already miss u'

George sends back a heart emoji.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, wow, I am posting chapters so rapidly that now I am getting caught up to where I am still working, so this might be getting updated a little slower, but I have big plans and am still excited. Just been busy otherwise.
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Also, I cannot be alone in seeing Adam being a romantic, sappy guy who totally goes all out for dates, right?

Adam shoots Carly a quick text before checking his outfit again.

He'd changed three times, finally deciding on a thin black long-sleeved shirt over a white tank, black skinny jeans, and black boots.

He kneels down and scruffs the fur on Stevies cheeks, giving her kisses and letting her lick his face.

"Daddy's going out, Stevie. You gotta go be a good girl for Carly. Ready to play with Daisy?!"

Stevie cocks her head.

"Daisy?!"

Stevie jumps around excitedly, running for the door.

He smiles and grabs her leash and harness, the box of Chelsea boots, and his keys, heading to the door, turning his lights off as he goes.

Carly is already standing in her open doorway when Stevie bolts down the hall to Daisy.

"Thank you, Carly," Adam says, handing the harness to her.

"Absolutely. Hope you have a good time on your date, Adam," she eyes the box and says, "are you taking him a gift?"

"Oh, no…. Um. His flatmate and best mate might be into these. They were a gift a while back, but I never wore them, so…"

"I see."

His face falls.

"Do you think I should bring him something?"

"No, I mean… I don't know. Is he the type to like gifts?"

"Oh my gosh. Um. Maybe I should like, pick up flowers."

Carly laughs and says, "I appreciated all the flowers you brought me on dates, but I have no idea if it's the same for men or not. Men like flowers, too, I guess. Will it make you late?"

"No."

"Then why not? Can't hurt anything."

He nods and starts wondering what flowers George would even like.

"Shit, I didn't mean to make you nervous."

"I already was that."

"Don't be. He's clearly already crazy about you, so I can't imagine you're going to mess anything up."

Adam nods, thanking her again before saying goodbye to Stevie and heading down the stairs.

He quickly drives to the nearest flower shop that Google suggests.

Looking at different arrangements for a bit, he's struck by a simple one with sunflowers and little blue flowers.

The cashier smiles at him as she snips the ends, wraps them, and begins ringing him up.

"What's the occasion?"

"Uh, first date."

"Oh, well, she's going to love these. Not too showy or dramatic, but sweet and a very lovely choice. "

He clears his throat and says, "he. And I hope he does."

She smiles wider and says, "apologies, dear. I didn't mean to assume."

He smiles at her, saying, "that's alright."

After he pays and bids her a good evening, he checks the time.

"Cutting it close now, shit," he mutters.

He hurries to his car, setting the flowers on the passenger seat beside the shoe box and quickly drives to George's flat.

He manages to find a spot right in front, realizing it's behind George's truck and smiles, tucking the box under his arm and grabbing the flowers.

Looking across the street, he smiles at the park briefly.

Checking the numbers above the doors, Adam finds the right one, hurrying up the steps to knock.

He smooths out his clothes and nervously shifts.

Some shouting comes from inside before the door swings open and George smiles at him.

"Hello, handsome."

"Hi, George," he smiles, stepping in as George moves to let him in, kissing him quickly. 

George's messy hair is pulled back and he's in a loose, drapey black t shirt that has a zipper up the front that disappears under the low cowl. He's in black jeans that are cuffed at the bottom, with black combat boots.

Adam smiles, saying, "you look great, as usual."

George raises an eyebrow and dramatically eyes Adam up and down, saying, "well, coming from you, that's quite the compliment."

Adam blushes and holds the flowers out for George, who takes them, smiling wide.

"Aw, you brought me flowers? You're so incredibly sweet. I guess I should've expected that. Nobody has ever brought me flowers before. Aw…"

Adam blushes and says, "I wasn't sure if I should or not, to be honest. Carly kind of put the idea in my head and I…. Well, you deserve flowers," he says with a sheepish shrug.

George smiles a bit helplessly at him before quickly drawing him into a kiss, wrapping his arms tightly around Adam's shoulders.

"Hi, Adam!" Matty calls and they break apart right as he steps into the room, stopping suddenly. "Oh, shit. Didn't mean to intrude, I'll just-" he motions back from where he came.

Adam laughs and says, "you're fine, Matty," stopping him before he leaves the room.

"Adam fucking brought me flowers," George grins excitedly. "Nobody has ever given me flowers. Isn't that the sweetest thing?"

Matty coos loudly, inspecting the flowers and looking between the two of them.

"What an angel! Aw! You two and your soppy, romantic shit, gonna make me cry again!"

Adam is blushing furiously, but he manages to laugh and hold the box up.

"I have something for you, also. As promised."

"Taboo to bring me the more expensive gift," Matty says with a wink, taking the box.

"Well, I only paid for the flowers, so, I think it's fine, yeah?" He looks at George nervously.

"Of course, silly," George grins, wrapping an arm around his waist and kissing his temple. "Help me find something to put them in, Matty."

George moves to cross the living room, Matty following, opening the box.

"Mate, I'm going to love your boyfriend more if he's going to show up with presents," Matty grins, turning to Adam to wink again.

Adam might not stop blushing at this point.

"Shush," George says, looking to Adam, who is still standing by the door. "Come on in, luv."

Adam follows them into the kitchen and George sets the flowers on the counter as he starts rooting through cabinets. 

Matty sets the box down and places the shoes on the floor, quickly putting them on.

He does a weird little twisting dance before walking around a bit.

"Love these, they feel great and I think I have a good outfit for them," he says to Adam, pointing down at them and nodding, a few curls falling over his glasses.

George rolls his eyes at him before saying, "they're lovely, Adam, thank you for gifting them to Matty. Now maybe he could be helpful with something to put your flowers in."

Matty gently swats at George before going across the kitchen, squatting down to look in one of the cabinets.

"Ah, here," he says, pulling out a gaudy mirrorball vase and handing it to George. 

"Where the fuck did we get this?"

"Mum's friend sent me flowers in that when we got that one Brighton gig. Wasn't sure I still had it actually. What luck."

"Oh, right. Well, it's painful to look at, but it'll work," George laughs.

Adam smiles and leans against the wall as he watches George put water in the vase and settles the flowers in, all while Matty is kind of dancing around in the shoes again.

George points behind Matty, asking him to hand him some scissors, and Matty does without stopping his dance.

Cutting the little twine off the stems, George gently shuffles the flowers around.

"Lovely."

"Hope you don't kill them, mate," Matty laughs and George throws the balled up wrapping at him.

"Twat."

"They're florist shop flowers, I don't even think they're meant to last all that long," Adam says gently. 

George comes over to him, with a smirk, wrapping his arms around Adam's waist and saying, "I love them, regardless."

Adam slips his arms around George's shoulders and says, "next time, I'll have to bring you something that won't likely die in two weeks."

"No, that's pressure. I've never kept a plant alive."

Adam smiles slowly and says, "I'll think of something," and presses a kiss to his lips.

George bumps his nose to Adam's before they slowly pull apart, looking over at Matty still shimmying around.

"Thanks for these, mate. They're very nice," he says, finally stopping.

"Oh, the dark red top with the like, asymmetrical white bit," George suddenly says, pointing at the shoes.

Matty claps and points at George, nodding with another wink.

"That's it, mate, that's what I was thinking," he says, suddenly darting off down the hallway.

Adam chuckles and says, "glad I held onto them I guess."

George smiles at him and Adam leans over to kiss him quickly, mumbling, "he called me your boyfriend."

Pulling away a bit to meet Adam's eyes, George quietly says, "is that alright? Because I certainly am not upset about that."

Adam grins and says, "won't hear me complain, luv."

George grins and kisses him, "Good," he murmurs, kissing him again. "My boyfriend."

Adam smiles against his lips and says, "my boyfriend."

Matty comes strutting back down the hall, wearing a long-sleeved shirt that perfectly matches the boots.

"Wow, yeah, that is perfect, mate. Glad someone can make some use of those."

"Right? This looks perfect. I think the burgundy is exactly the same shade," Matty grins.

"Sick," George smiles. He looks over at Adam excitedly and says, "want a small tour of our place, then?"

Adam smiles and says, "absolutely."

George shows him around as Matty heads into his room to do something.

He stops at a door at the end of the hall and says, "you'll like this room," before opening the door and turning the light on.

Adam is met with a room illuminated by fairy lights and a vast assortment of instruments and gear.

"Oh, wow."

He steps in and looks at the keyboards and guitars, noticing the drum set in one corner, and looking around to see the soundproofing on the walls.

"This is like a dream in here."

George is leaned against the door frame with a smile when Adam turns and looks back.

Matty peeks around him, motioning at the guitars, and says, "wanna show us something, mate?"

Adam flushes a little and looks around.

"Do we have time?" George asks.

Adam checks his phone and says, "I don't know. Might be cutting it close. Maybe after?"

George nods and says, "I like that plan."

Adam nods and steps back to him, saying, "I'd love to see you show off your drumming skills for me."

George grins and Matty says, "be ready to be impressed. I drum as well, but nowhere near the level this giant is at."

George rolls his eyes and says, "Well. I'm ready to go when you are, luv."

Adam smiles and says, "alright, let's get going then."

"Where are you taking him?" Matty asks, sliding the shoes off.

"It's a surprise," Adam grins, looking at George and winking.

"So mysterious," he says with a goofy smile.

Adam loves that he can tell George is genuinely excited. It makes him less anxious. 

"Maybe bring a jacket, though. I have one in the car."

George smiles and goes to grab one.

They say their goodbyes to Matty and head out the door.

Adam catches George off guard by opening the passenger door for him this time, grinning as George smiles goofily and kisses his cheek, sliding into the seat.

When he gets in, George smirks and says, "so should I put a blindfold on to not ruin the surprise, then?"

Adam laughs and says, "I don't know if THAT is necessary, but I like your thought process there."

"Oh, are you into blindfolds?"

George waggles his eyebrows suggestively and Adam blushes slightly.

"Maybe. Never tried it," Adam says quietly, not wanting to outright admit that he finds the idea pretty worthy of entertaining. 

George laughs, though, and Adam is off the hook on that one for now.

They start the drive and Adam tells George to put on whatever music he'd like.

George messes with the station and they drive along chatting.

"Hey, what are you up to on Saturday?" George suddenly says, chewing his lip.

"Oh, I have an event. Most of the day. Why, what's Saturday?"

George looks down and says, "oh, its, um. We're just having a little get together. Just the guys and me, at our place."

"Oh? Well, what time? I shouldn't be too late."

"Probably around 8 or 9. I don't know what you'd need to be up to the next day, though. If you'd be able to be there too late."

"I think I will probably actually have Sunday off. I'll have to check," Adam is noticing how nervous George is. "I can definitely make it, though."

George offers a small smile, looking a little unsure.

"You sure? I don't want to keep you out after you work an event and might be tired. Again."

"Of course."

George smiles a little wider.

They arrive and Adam grins, pulling into a parking spot and shutting off the engine, looking over at George. 

George peers out at the building and says, "what is this?"

"Very romantic, so I am told. You like seafood, yeah?"

George nods.

Adam grabs his jacket and gets out, George following slowly, taking Adam's hand when he offers, and they walk toward the door.

Adam holds it open and follows George in, telling the host about the reservation. 

As he looks through the logs, George leans in to Adam and says, "this is well posh. Aren't we a little underdressed?"

"It's fine, luv."

The host leads them through the small building and outside to a patio along the river where a small boat sits.

"Enjoy, gentlemen," the host says, smiling at their linked hands and removing a velvet rope.

"Thank you," Adam smiles back, and they board the boat.

They go up the stairs to the top level, finding two seats in the back, and Adam finally meets George's eyes as they sit.

He's got the most adorable smile on his face, and Adam mentally cheers.

"Ever been on a romantic boat dinner?"

George chuckles and says, "take a guess."

Adam grins, saying, "a first for both of us, then."

"What the fuck," George quietly mumbles.

Adam's heart races and his face falls.

"Is- is it too much? Oh, shit. You're not scared of being on boats or anything, are you? Oh, gosh. I didn't even-"

George looks up and reaches across the table to grab his hands.

"No! No. I just…. I've never met anyone so sweet. Nobody's ever… done stuff like this for me."

Adam smiles again, and says, "well, that makes two of us. I just- You've already been so sweet and done so much romantic stuff that I've never had anyone do, and…. Well, I did say I'm a romantic type. I wanted to do something at least half as sweet as your dance with me, because that was…. I'm still dealing with just how sweet that was. And, I'm not going to lie, Carly helped me look up all kinds of unique first date ideas. Apparently, Sarah's husband proposed to her on this trip? He got a private one, but that's a little much. And wildly expensive. I don't make THAT kind of money," he laughs. "Though, I am wondering if that isn't exactly what John and Ross did now."

"It might be," George says quietly, smiling shyly.

Adam stops rambling as he watches George's face.

He looks a little flushed, but can't seem to contain the huge smile.

"You really like this, don't you?" Adam says softly. 

George nods, biting his lip, and says, "this is so fucking adorable, Adam. Thank you for taking me on a cheesy, but insanely romantic dinner boat. Oh my god," he drops his head into his hands. "You're so fucking cute."

Adam laughs, feeling a warmth bloom in his chest, and says, "you're welcome. And also, you deserve it, luv."

A waitress, Jennifer, comes over and George unburies his face, which is pretty red, and she details the dinner for the evening before handing them the wine list.

After a few minutes, the boat begins moving along the river.

George just peers around happily, sipping his wine, and Adam smiles, feeling his heart swell as he watches him.

Adam feels a little proud of how happy George looks- how happy he made George- and bites his lip, just admiring how gorgeous he is.

George finally meets his eyes and smiles even wider.

"I'm still just absolutely bowled over. This is lovely. Wait," George suddenly leans across the table and quietly asks Adam, "how much does this cost? It's expensive, innit? Can't be cheap. Adam…."

"Don't worry about that. It's fine. Apparently, it is very worth the price, and, more importantly, I wanted to do this for you. And me, honestly."

George smiles and leans back.

"Puts some pressure on me for our next date, doesn't it?" George mumbles around his glass before taking a sip.

Adam chuckles and George giggles a little.

"You tipped us so much at the wedding, AND bought me so many drinks after, George."

George shakes his head before moving his seat so they're sitting close, rather than across from each other, looking out at the view, and he laces their fingers together. 

"You're lovely, d'you know that?"

Adam looks down and smiles.

"You're lovely," he says softly.

George tips his head back up and kisses him.

They part and just look at each other with silly smiles until the first dish comes out, and Jennifer smiles wide at them.

"Sorry to interrupt, gentlemen. Enjoying yourselves, so far?"

"Absolutely. This is lovely," George smiles at her. "I've never been on such a lovely first date."

He gently nudges Adam, who is blushing slightly. 

She grins back and says, "aw, caught a romantic type?"

George grins at Adam, saying, "looks that way. Lucky me, yeah?"

She laughs and says, "you two make a handsome couple," she leans in a bit and whispers. "Putting a sour look on the old, posh couple 'cross the way, but they do this every week and are always a bit rude, so that's a bonus for me."

She winks and George lets out a goofy laugh, Adam covering his mouth and laughing quietly. 

"Nice. Have to enjoy upsetting the bigots, don't we?"

Adam laughs a little more, shaking his head, and says, "how much of a line would it cross if we turned and waved right now?"

George giggles and swats him, "you're too sweet for that. Me, on the other hand… well, don't give me ideas, darling."

He sits back and sips his wine with a grin.

Jennifer giggles and says, "I'll be back in a bit. You two enjoy," and winks before walking to the next table.

"Wow, who would have thought this date would get even better? Ruffling feathers is a bonus, yeah?"

Adam grins and holds his glass up, George clinking his against it gently before they take a sip and begin eating.

After the first two courses, they sit enjoying the view for a bit, Adam leaning his head on George's shoulder as his arm wraps around Adam's shoulders. 

They pass through a dimly lit tunnel and George presses a kiss to Adam's temple.

"This is so lovely, Adam. I know I already gushed, but I can't help it. You're so bloody sweet," George says softly.

Adam smiles and rights himself to meet George's eyes.

"I'm really happy you like this. I was so nervous that it was too much or whatever. This is, hands down, the cutest date I've been on, so it's a relief to know you're enjoying it."

George smiles and moves to cup a hand around the back of Adam's jaw, running his fingers along the back of his neck, holding Adam close to kiss him slowly, and Adam almost mirrors him, but lets his hand slide down to the side of George's neck.

They finally break apart, resting their foreheads together. 

Eventually, they part, and Adam lets out a shaky breath, smiling at George, who laughs softly and smiles.

  
  
  


By the time the finish dessert, George is a bit tipsy from the wine, flushed and giggling, unable to keep his hands off of Adam.

He's not necessarily touching him with sexual intent, but he hasn't stopped running his hands along his arms and back or holding his hands or just keeping a hand on the back of his neck.

Adam watches him like this with a soft smile, feeling the wine a bit, but he definitely didn't drink as much, knowing he had to drive.

As Jennifer is taking their dishes, asking how everything was, and letting them know they'll be docking again in 10 minutes, Adam has to take both of George's hands just to still him for a bit, and George props his chin on Adam's shoulder, grinning.

Jennifer smiles at him and George wraps his arms around Adam's waist, happily saying, "I had a lovely time. This was very nice. I'm a lucky guy, huh?"

She laughs and says, "seems like you both are lucky to have met each other. You're very cute together."

George grins and says to Adam, "we're cute together."

Adam smiles at him and says, "yeah, we are. 'Course we are."

  
  
  


They share a cigarette leaned against Adam's car, George leaned into him as Adam wraps an arm around his shoulders before he drives them slowly.

Parking in front of George and Matty's place, Adam taps the steering wheel a few times as George unbuckles and looks up meeting Adam's eyes.

"You're coming in, right?"

"If you want."

George scoffs and says, "I can't imagine a world where I wouldn't."

Adam laughs and George wraps a hand around the back of his neck, gently pulling him closer to kiss him slowly. Adam's hands gently grip George's wrists, rubbing his thumb over his wrist bone. 

He gets so wrapped up in their kiss that his head spins a little and he almost doesn't notice the small noise George makes.

Reluctantly, he breaks the kiss, letting George kiss him once more before they rest their foreheads against each other's, hands tangled together. 

"I'm so fuckin happy I met you," George says softly.

Adam opens his eyes to see the huge smile on his face.

"I'm so happy I met you, too."

He kisses George's nose and they eventually move to get out of the car.

They head up the steps hand in hand and George unlocks the door, letting them in.

Matty is around the corner and in the living room before they've even shut the door.

"How was your date, lads?" He asks with a grin.

"Oh my fuckin- Matty. D'you know what this fuckin smooth, romantic cutie did? Took me on a posh dinner boat date," George says, leaning on the couch to take off his shoes.

"That's well posh," Matty grins, looking at Adam. "And so sweet."

Adam blushes a bit and sheepishly runs the back of his neck, saying, "I took me a lot to figure out what to even do, and I was all worried I'd done too much."

George stands upright and cups Adam's jaw in both hands.

"Not too much. You're perfect, sweetheart. I've never had such a lovely date ever," he smiles at Adam before kissing him quickly. "Thank you."

"Oh, shit. How much wine did you drink, G?" Matty giggles, coming toward him.

George turns and puts one hand on Matty's face gently pushing him away, much to the surprise and protest of the other man.

"Piss off, I'm not that bad. Just a little bit tipsy. Probably be basically back to normal in a bit."

Adam laughs as Matty finally dodges George's hand and bats at him.

"You seem alright though," he points at Adam. "Wait, did you drive home?"

Adam nods and says, "I didn't want to drink quite as much, just a few glasses. So that I could drive okay."

"You gonna make him walk a line?" George snickers and gently pushes at Matty again.

He gives up and wraps his arms around Adam's waist.

Matty shakes his head and says, "I'll get you lot some water."

Adam smiles and leads George around to the couch, sitting, and George immediately snuggles into him.

"I'm really not that pissed. I just don't usually drink much wine, and I am overflowing with happiness right now. You make me really happy. And tonight was so lovely."

Adam smiles and lifts George's chin to meet his eyes.

"I'm really glad. You make me very happy too, luv."

He kisses George gently and George mumbles against his lips, "stay?"

"If you want me to."

"I obviously do."

George grins and kisses him before pulling away a bit when they hear Matty coming back.

He sets two water bottles on the coffee table, and Adam thanks him, handing one to George before drinking some of the other.

"So you comin over for George's birthday on Saturday?" Matty asks, rocking on his heels.

Adam pauses mid drink, slowly bringing the bottle away from his mouth.

"G. Did you seriously not invite him yet?"

"No, no. I was invited to 'a get together with the lads at our place' on Saturday. I was not aware it was for your birthday!" Adam turns to George, who is chewing his lip. "George, how could you not tell me it was your birthday?"

"It's not a big deal. And I didn't want you to feel super pressured to get me something, I'm not really doing that."

Matty waves George off and says, "ignore that. We've all gotten him something."

George looks at Matty a little frustrated, saying, "I've told you all not to!"

Matty shrugs.

George turns back to Adam and says, "well, you don't have to, we just met and started dating. That's really quick to have to figure out a gift for your boyfriend."

"You said 'boyfriend'!" Matty shouts excitedly.

"Yeah, we decided we liked it earlier when you called me his boyfriend," Adam smiles. He turns to George and says, "and shush, I am absolutely going to get you something. I won't stress myself on making it the most perfect gift ever, but it'll be an attempt."

George smiles shyly and curls back into Adam's side.

"He'll like whatever you get him more than any of our gifts, regardless of what you get him," Matty grins, flopping into a chair.


	15. Chapter 15

They sit around talking and smoking for a while before Matty announces he is going to go write a bit.

Adam and George say goodnight to him as he goes down the hallway.

George stands, offering his hands to Adam, pulling him up.

"Time for snuggles," George giggles.

Adam laughs and grabs their water bottles, letting George pull him to his room.

George turns on a switch by the bed and it brings up a row of soft lights along the headboard. He grabs a remote and presses some buttons, turning on some soft R&B at a low volume.

Adam quirks an eyebrow and says, "very smooth, Mr. Daniel."

George laughs and sits on the chair by his closet, taking off his socks and pulling things out of his pockets.

Adam takes off his shoes and socks, pulling off his long-sleeved shirt and setting it on the dresser, pushing his shoes and socks slightly under it.

George's room is very tidy, but has tons of character.

Adam's looking around curiously when he spots the little origami dog on the dresser.

He's smiling at it when George's arms slink around his waist from behind and he drops a kiss to Adam's shoulder.

He smiles and turns in his arms, and blushes a bit when he sees George has stripped down to just a pair of black boxer briefs.

"Wore my nicest pants for you," George giggles.

Adam smiles and looks down, saying, "they are pretty nice."

George winks and kisses him slowly, pulling the hem of Adam's tank up, and they get rid of the shirt.

Wrapping his arms back around Adam, George starts backing up toward the bed, pulling Adam along and not breaking the kiss.

As George's legs hit the side of the bed, he falls onto it and Adam follows him down, climbing over him with a knee on either side of George's left leg, George pulling Adam down as he lays back, and reattaching their lips.

George's hands trail up Adam's back to his shoulder blades, hooking his arms under Adam's as he holds himself up over George.

Adam keeps his weight propped up on one hand by George's head as the other hand goes to cup his jaw.

George hums and his hands slide down, his long fingers making quick work of Adam's button and zipper of his jeans.

Adam breaks the kiss to trail down along George's jaw, nipping lightly at the spot under his ear.

George gasps a little, his hands gripping Adam's hips roughly.

Adam grins and mumbles, "oh, you like that, do you?"

George nods and breathlessly says, "very much."

"Hey," Adam says softly, pulling back a bit.

George meets his eyes and swallows.

"I don't know how far we want to take this tonight. But I want you to know that, no matter what, I really, REALLY like you. And I don't really see that changing. Except, I guess, maybe just liking you more."

George smiles softly and says, "I definitely didn't really plan on doing anything, I just got carried away. And I think you already know how gone for you I am."

Adam smiles wide and kisses him gently.

"So…. Um. Should we chill, or….?"

George laughs and says, "I still definitely want to take our time, or whatever, but I really want to touch you. And I really want your hands on me. Like, pretty fucking badly."

Adam giggles, pressing his forehead against George's, and says, "I am definitely okay with that. You have no fucking idea how sexy you are, do you?"

George laughs and says, "you're one to talk. I was not prepared for you being so fierce. Wow. Got used to shy, blushy Adam, then you pull this out. Damn."

Adam laughs, flushing a little, and says, "yeah, you kind of brought that out of me."

"Well, color me proud, luv," George grins, leaning up to catch Adam's lips again.

Adam kisses him deeply, pressing him back down into the bed and George tugs the waistband of Adam's jeans down a little.

One of George's hands dances low across Adam's tummy before slipping down into his open jeans, running his fingers over the material of his underwear, tracing along the outline of Adam's rapidly swelling cock.

Adam softly whimpers into George's mouth and George smiles into the kiss as his fingers stroke back down.

Not missing a beat, Adam runs one hand down George's chest, finger tips catching against George's waistband, teasingly dipping two fingers inside and tracing along the soft, sensitive skin.

George lets out a soft little huff, and wraps his hand around the outline of Adam's cock through his underwear, stroking gently.

Adam moans softly, mirroring George's actions for a few strokes before gently sliding his hand down into George's underwear. 

He moans, breaking the kiss to tip his head back as Adam's hand wraps around him, stroking slowly, and Adam attaches his lips to George's throat.

_Fuck, I knew he was going to be big, but wow._

Adam feels himself growing in George's loosened grip at the feel of George in his own, head spinning a bit at how good George's cock feels.

His brain is battered with the mental image of him wrapping his lips around it and he has to stop himself from asking George if he can, knowing he won't say no, but they agreed to keep things at hands.

George seems to get back together enough to slide his hand down into Adam's underwear as well, stroking him and cupping his hand around the head, giving a gentle tug.

"Fuck," Adam breathes out sharply against George's skin on his collarbone, dropping his head there as George toys with him.

"Why don't we make this a bit easier, hmm?" George mumbles, starting to tug Adam's underwear and pants down more.

They break apart so Adam can stand to get them off, George pulling his own underwear off and tossing them aside. 

Adam looks back at him, and George is propped up on his elbows, legs still hung over the side of the bed, and has a devilish smirk on his face.

Swallowing hard, Adam lets his eyes trail down George's body, taking in all of the curves and tattoos, how is cock is curved up onto his belly, his strong thighs looking like a seat for Adam.

"Bloody hell," he murmurs, meeting George's dark eyes again.

George has started eyeing him up and down, and, while Adam has never thought he looked bad or anything, he's always sort of disliked being this vulnerable under anyone's gaze before. 

Somehow, he is preening under George's eyes, though, loving how the other man is looking at him.

He steps back to George, sitting right where he wanted to across George's thighs, and wraps a hand around the back of George's neck, bringing him into a bruising kiss.

George lets out a surprised noise as his hands go around Adam, one cupping his ass, the other wrapped around the middle of his back.

Adam's cock slides against George's, but they're too dry.

George catches on quickly, reaching for the nightstand and pulling lube out of the drawer.

Adam holds out his free hand, not taking his attention away from biting George's lips and sliding his tongue along George's, and George perfectly squirts lube into the center of his palm.

He wraps his hand around George's length, pumping slowly for a moment before wrapping both of their cocks up, sliding them together.

George moans into his mouth, and the hand around Adam's back moves as he squirts some onto his own hand, wrapping his hand around them as well, partially covering Adam's. 

Adam finally breaks the kiss to moan softly, head tipping back before he drops it against George's collarbone, watching their hands.

George's thighs shake under him, and Adam briefly wonders if putting all of his weight on them was a great plan, but he feels incredible right now, and couldn't move away if he tried.

Their hands gradually begin moving faster and rougher, and Adam swallows hard, lifting his head and whispering, "I am not going to last long," against George's parted lips.

George shakes his head softly, a few pieces of hair falling down into his face.

"Me neither, baby. Me neither."

Adam lets go, letting George keep the pace, and wraps both arms around George's shoulders, pulling himself closer, burying his face in George's neck, moaning and panting into his ear.

"You feel so fucking good. Fuck. I can't wait to fuck you," George mutters shakily.

Adam shivers and grins, then leans closer so his lips brush against George's ear and he says, "I can't wait to suck that gorgeous cock into my mouth."

That clearly catches George off guard, and his hand stutters as his hips buck up, letting out a soft whine. 

"Fuck," he swears, pressing his face into Adam's shoulder. "Fuck, fuck, fuck…"

Adam feels warmth spilling over him and looks down to watch George pumping them through his own cum.

_Holy fuckin hell, that's delicious._

Adam can feel himself starting to tremble, and George lets go of himself, just pumping Adam, mumbling incoherently into Adam's collarbone.

The warmth blooms in his belly, and he knows he's got maybe two more strokes left.

"So fucking close," he says shakily.

He tips his head back and softly moans as he spills over George's hand, which slows.

George leans forward to leave a trail of hot, messy kisses along the underside of Adam's jaw.

Dropping his head back down onto George's shoulder, Adam lets out a content little sigh.

They stay like that for a moment, panting, before George uses his non-messy hand to tip Adam's head up, cupping his jaw and meeting his eyes.

George's eyes are so dark and intense. 

"That was incredible. You are incredible. Holy shit. I did not expect any of that," George laughs softly. "Where did the shy, slightly timid guy go? You just blew my fucking mind, babe. You're breathtaking."

Adam smiles as George rambles, eventually cutting him off with a kiss.

They sit kissing slowly for a while, and Adam finally realizes again that George's legs are shaking.

"I should probably get off your legs," Adam mumbles. 

George chuckles softly and Adam stands shakily, reaching for the tissues on the bedside table.

"That's a really good image," George says sort of dreamily before sighing and flopping back across the bed.

"What?"

"Your cock all covered in both of our cum."

Adam bites his lip, grinning, before beginning to clean himself off.

He sneaks a glance at George, spent and dazed with his eyes closed, hands on his chest, lower stomach to mid-thigh wet and sticky from both of them.

"I should grab us a towel, tissues aren't going to do much," he finally says, slowly sitting back up.

"Is there one in here?"

"Should be one on the top of the laundry basket," he points and Adam goes to grab it.

"This is a really nice towel, you sure?"

George kind of cracks up and says, "oh, I'm sure I don't even care right now. That'll be a problem for later."

Adam smiles and cleans himself off as best as he can before coming over to George and sitting beside him, gently starting to clean him.

"I can clean myself, darling. You've done so much for me already tonight," George says, taking the towel.

Adam smiles wide and lays back across the bed, stretching a little.

"Okay, now that is a good view," George says, leaning down to press a lazy kiss to Adam's lips. "Naked and sated, basking like a cat in the sunshine. It's a very good look on you, luv."

Adam smiles lazily and says, "you're a good look."

George giggles softly and says, "on you? Surely," kissing him again, deeper and longer than before.

Adam chuckles into the kiss and cups George's jaw, keeping him close.

  
  
  


They eventually stand and pull on their underwear and George finds a loose black tank as Adam pulls his tank on.

George leads them through the flat to a door leading out to a small garden and they sit on the patio chairs.

He offers Adam a cigarette, lighting it for him before lighting his own.

They sit in a peaceful silence, holding hands and smoking for a bit before the door opens and Matty steps out with a cigarette in his hand.

He spots them and stops, sputtering and cracking up laughing.

George looks at him with a lopsided smile, and Adam looks at him as he composes himself, one eyebrow raised.

"Oi, are you seriously just sat in a garden in your pants, holding hands, and smoking in the middle of the night, in silence?"

George starts shaking with laughter as Matty loses it again.

Adam can't help giggling along.

Matty finally composes himself and pulls up a stool, sitting down across from them and shaking his head, lighting his cigarette. 

"You lot are very cute weirdos."

"Thanks, mate," Adam smiles.

George giggles and runs his thumb over Adam's knuckles.

"So…" Matty says, taking a drag and grinning. "Have fun, did you?"

George and Adam look at each other, then back at Matty.

"Sorry, walked by to go to the kitchen and uh, heard things."

Adam blushes furiously and George chews his lip.

"Sorry. I probably could keep some shit to myself."

"Probably," George says softly.

"Well, I'm happy for the two of you, regardless. You don't have to wait for ages, it's obvious how serious you both already are. Sex is ju-"

"We actually didn't. Still waiting a bit," Adam finally interrupts. He meets George's eyes and smiles, saying, "just getting a feel for each other," and winks.

George laughs, burying his face in his hand, "oh my fucking.... Well put, luv."

Adam grins and says, "I thought it was a fitting choice of words."

He looks over to see Matty giggling into his hand.

Adam feels weirdly proud and finishes his cigarette. 

  
  
  


They chat for a while before saying goodnight again, and George follows Adam back to his room.

When he shuts the door, Adam turns to look at him, seeing him looking down and chewing his lip, but there's a smile.

Adam steps into George's personal space, sliding his arms up onto George's shoulders, as George's arms instinctively go around Adam's waist.

Adam ducks his head a bit to get George to meet his eyes, and he finally does.

"Hey, sorry about that. If it embarrassed you or anything. Just thought I was being funny."

"No, no. I don't think you or Matty could embarrass me at this point. It was really funny. That's the thing. I-.... It's exactly our type of humor. I just am so in awe, I guess, of how easily you fit right in with us."

Adam smiles and leans in to kiss him, tangling his fingers into George's hair. 

They break apart and George wraps Adam up in a tight hug, burying his face in Adam's neck.

After a moment, they part, heading to the bed and immediately curling up.

George presses tiny kisses all over Adam's face, causing him to start giggling and squirming.

George laughs and connects their lips, kissing him deeply before they settle in to sleep, murmuring goodnights to each other.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, I am stepping into some interesting territory with this one, I honestly debated scraping this and the next one and not going into this, but it's turning out really lovely, so bear with me, this does get really good.

Adam wakes up to gentle kisses along the side of his neck, smiling sleepily.

"Mmm, mornin' luv."

Opening his eyes, Adam's met with George looking soft and sleepy, hair all over the place as he lazily smiles, running a hand up and down Adam's arm slowly 

"Good morning," Adam murmurs, leaning in to press a quick kiss to George's lips before stretching and yawning.

George chuckles before stretching and letting out tiny grunts.

Adam rolls onto his back fully and stretches more, his shirt riding up as he squirms.

Suddenly, George's mouth is on his stomach, blowing raspberries.

Adam yelps and squirms, reaching down to grab George's shoulders as the other man giggles squeaky and loud.

George lets up, and Adam yanks his shirt back down.

Squirming around, George moves to lay with his head on Adam's chest, facing him, sprawled diagonally across the bed.

Adam smiles down at him as George's fingers lace through his, and he threads his fingers into George's hair, gently scraping his scalp.

"Twat," he mumbles.

George grins up at him.

"Couldn't resist your tummy."

Adam chuckles and George leans into Adam's hand.

They lay there like that for a while, just blissfully smiling and enjoying the comfort of each other.

After a while, Adam thinks about showering, and he starts to ask George, but stops when he realizes George has nodded off on his chest, put to sleep by Adam's gentle scalp massage.

He smiles at the sight and decides he could lay there however long.

In the end, a knock wakes them both, as Adam began drifting off again.

"Come in," George calls sleepily, moving to curl around Adam.

The door cracks open and Adam peeks over George's hair to see John poke his head in, smiling when he spots them.

"Hiya, lovebirds," he says, grinning as he comes in.

George smiles and rolls to look at John, waving. 

"I take it you forgot about brunch, then?"

George's smile falls and he sits up suddenly.

"Oh my god, what time is it?!"

"It's only 9. Don't freak out."

"No, I'm so sorry, mate. I didn't forget, I just-"

"George," John says, stopping George as he's getting out of bed in a rush. "Calm down. Just take your time. I'm fine."

He chuckles, meeting Adam's eyes.

Adam smiles at him, getting out of bed slowly.

"Sorry to interrupt the morning snuggles," John says to him with a grin.

Adam smiles wider and says, "not a problem. George didn't tell me you had plans this morning. Wouldn't have let him fall back asleep."

"I didn't forget," George mumbles.

John laughs and says, "I'm going to go make coffee, you two take your time. Adam, you're welcome to join us, of course."

"Oh, I don't want to intrude. I should go on home, get Stevie and spend some quality time with her before work tonight. But thank you, John."

"Of course. I'll see you Saturday, though? Ross and I leave the next morning, so we won't be here too late, but I can't miss G's birthday," John wraps George in a hug.

"Yeah, I'll be here."

"Should bring your pup!" Matty pipes up from the doorway.

He keeps walking, going into the bathroom.

Adam smiles and says, "that's not a bad idea, if everyone would be okay with that."

"Oh, absolutely!" George says excitedly. 

"Well, for now, let's have a shower."

George goes down the hall, knocking on the bathroom door, John heading to the kitchen.

"Matty, you cool if Adam and I have a shower?"

Matty opens the door and steps into the hall.

"All yours, lads. I'm going to go wait patiently as John makes us coffee."

George smiles and Adam follows him into the bathroom. 

"You alright with sharing?"

"Sure, I don't think I ever have showered with anyone."

"Luckily, our shower is pretty big so we have some space," George says, closing and locking the door and rooting through the linen closet for two towels.

He hangs them on the hooks and opens the shower door to reach in, turning the water on.

Adam stands awkwardly as George messes with the temperature, turning around to start pulling his shirt off.

He pauses when he sees Adam shifting and chewing his lip, looking down and slowly pulling his shirt off.

"Hey, we don't have to shower together. I can wait until you're done."

Adam shakes his head, smiling and saying, "it's fine. I mean, kinda late to be shy now, right? Anyway, this is more effective, like this, yeah?"

"Adam, you're allowed to still have boundaries, just because we've seen each other and touched each other, it's okay."

"I- I know. And I really appreciate you saying that. I'm not sure what my apprehension is. I'd like to shower with you."

"Worried about not keeping your hands to yourself?" George smirks.

Adam laughs and says, "maybe."

George smiles, slipping his arms around Adam's waist and kisses him gently. 

"I think we can behave."

Adam nods and they part, undressing, and George lets Adam slip into the shower before him, stepping in and closing the the door.

He steps into the spray and closes his eyes as the warm water runs over him.

Stepping to the side, he takes the shampoo bottle George is holding out to him before he steps under the water.

George was right about the shower being spacious enough that this isn't uncomfortable.

They wash up in a peaceful silence and after a bit, as George is rinsing his body off, Adam lets his eyes trail over his body, taking in just how good George looks.

He feels arousal start blooming in his stomach as he thinks about how George would look on top of him, strong arms pinning him down, and he has to shake his head and look away.

After a few more minutes, George softly asks if Adam is all done, to which he nods, and they shut off the water, stepping out of the shower, Adam handing him one of the towels, beginning to dry off with the other.

George grins at Adam and says, "see? We behaved. Despite how bad I wanted to step up behind you and reach around and touch you…"

Adam flushes and chews his lip before thinking, _oh, fuck it._

"Do you think we could do it quietly enough that John and Matty wouldn't hear us?"

George grins and reaches back into the shower to turn the water on again.

"We can try, can't we?" He says low, eyes getting darker as he steps toward Adam.

He throws his towel onto the sink counter, and reaches over to pull Adam's towel away from his hips, tossing it beside his before stepping against Adam, hands settling on his hips as he leans in to kiss him slowly.

They get back into the shower, and George pushes him against the wall, kissing him and pressing their bodies together.

Adam's breath leaves him in a rush as George boxes him in against the shower wall. He feels small and dominated, and it turns his knees to jelly.

George suddenly breaks the kiss, turning Adam and pressing him face first against the shower wall, somehow both forcefully and carefully.

He holds him there with a hand between his shoulder blades, and, out of the corner of his eye, Adam sees him grab a bottle of body wash, squeezing some into his hand.

George moves his hand and steps close to Adam, letting the hand on his back slide down to his hip, squeezing gently as he brushes his lips behind Adam's ear and mumbles, "is this okay? Like this? Should've asked if it's okay to be a bit rough…"

"This is good, George… you being kind of rougher and dominating is… uh... it's really fuckin hot, I'm not gonna lie…"

Adam flushes a little at the admission, but he can feel George grinning.

His lips leave messy, hot kisses along Adam's shoulder and neck as he presses against Adam's backside fully, rubbing his hard length against Adam's ass.

Adam lets out a little whine as George's soapy hand slides along his hardening cock, wrapping firmly around the tip, sliding along to the base.

George quickly moves his hand back up, biting down on Adam's shoulder sharply, earning a gasp, before gently kissing the spot.

He easily builds up a rhythm quietly moaning as Adam grinds back against George's cock every few pumps.

As the pleasure builds, Adam's hands try and fail to find purchase against the smooth shower wall, his gasps barely audible over the sound of the shower.

George's hand leaves his hip and he laces his fingers with Adam's as Adam begins shaking.

He would be a little embarrassed of how quickly he's gotten so close, but Adam can't feel any shame at how easily George turns him on.

As George pumps him, grinding his cock between his cheeks, rubbing roughly against his hole, Adam brings his hand up, covering his mouth as he quietly moans.

It doesn't take much more before he knows he's going to come any minute, and he gasps out that he's close.

George stops long enough to spin him back around and press him back against the shower wall, pumping him fast and watching with glazed eyes as Adam shoots off across George's hand, stomach, and waiting cock.

Adam gasps and pants, leaning against the wall as he comes down, and George presses soft kisses to the corner of his mouth and down his neck.

"Fuck. That was… so fucking amazing, G. Embarrassingly quick, but you're just… so fucking incredible."

He opens his eyes to see George grinning at him.

He wraps a hand around the back of George's neck, pulling him into a bruising kiss before mumbling against his lips, "how do you want it, luv?"

George chews his lip and finally says, "however, baby."

Adam levels him with a look and says, "no, you've clearly got something in mind."

George hesitates and eventually says, "I want you to pull me back against you with your hand on my throat. You don't have to like, choke me, but, um… I just really like the feeling of a strong hand around my throat, being controlled, I guess. And I… rarely find someone who will, or that I even trust enough to let them do that… I usually don't even ask, because it freaks people out that I'm into that, I think. And I understand if you don't feel comfortable, I just wanted to ask if-"

"I'll do that for you, if you want it," Adam interrupts. He's caught off guard by this, but absolutely does not want George feeling uncertain or ashamed of asking for something he clearly seems to be a little more secretive about. He's just made himself so vulnerable for Adam, so it isn't going to be in vain. "Just let me know if it's too tight, yeah?"

George nods eagerly and Adam kisses him softly again.

He's never done anything like this, he's nervous, but he is overwhelmed by how much he wants to do this for George. 

Adam trails his fingers along George's jaw before grabbing his throat and forcing him to turn, leading him by his throat and hip to back up flush against him.

He slides the hand on George's hip to his cock gently stroking him as George gasps, head tipping back.

George's hands scramble to grab the same bottle of wash, squirting it into Adam's hand as he holds it out for him.

He starts loosely stroking George, teasing a little at the tip, and George moans as he bites his lip, Adam gently squeezing his throat.

"How's this?"

"So fucking good, thank you so much, Adam," George gasps. 

He keeps slowly and loosely stroking him, and Adam can feel him getting impatient. 

"Stop teasing," he finally whimpers.

Adam decides to go out on a limb and test a theory he's developing about George: he tightens his grip around George's throat, growling into his ear, "shut the fuck up and behave."

George covers his mouth as he gasps and moans, melting back against Adam.

_Didn't know I had that in me. He's bringing all kinds of surprises out of me._

Adam does tighten his grip a bit, pumping George faster, toying with the head and intermittently squeezing a bit at George's throat.

It doesn't take too long before George is trembling, quietly babbling to Adam about how good he is.

Adam grips his throat, pushing George's jaw up, tipping his head back, and slowly growls in his ear, "I want you to come for me, all across the glass, G. Be so good for me, yeah?"

That's all it takes, and George does, covering his mouth to muffle his moan.

Adam lets go of his throat, running his hand down his chest to hold him steady. 

He holds George for a while, letting him catch his breath before easing him forward to sit him on the ledge along the far side of the shower.

Adam cleans himself up, and cleans the glass before using the shower hose to gently clean George. 

He doesn't remember why or even where, but he had read a bit about the psychology of BDSM and subspace before, finding it incredibly interesting, even if it didn't exactly turn him on, and made him blush alone in his home about it.

Looking at how blissful and high George appears, he thinks this may be similar enough, though definitely not quite as intense. 

He sits beside George, stroking his hair and lacing their fingers together. 

After a bit, George finally opens his eyes and looks at Adam, pupils huge in his glossy eyes.

"Holy fucking hell, Adam," he says slowly. "That was so intense. And so amazing. Thank you for that. Wasn't expecting that. You're continuously surprising me."

Adam smiles and says, "surprised myself a bit. That wasn't too much, what I said to you and all?"

"Oh, no. That was awesome. Thank you. How did you guess I wanted that?"

Adam shrugs and says, "it made sense, I guess, and I gambled. I figure, worst case scenario, you wouldn't be into it and just tell me right away."

"Well, I'm really into it. Not all the time, we don't have to do that all the time, but… that was fucking awesome. I think you being that dominant and growling at me when you're so gentle and sweet naturally…. That made it so intense."

"I'm glad I could do that for you. I was a bit nervous."

George smiles lazily at him.

"It didn't show," he says, tipping his head against Adam's and softly saying, "thank you, honestly."

Adam kisses his nose and says, "of course. We can explore that more sometime."

"Fuckin awesome," George giggles.

"We'll have to actually have a discussion. Make certain we're safe and understand exactly what we want and don't want. I've never done anything like that before, but…. I liked it. I liked how you reacted," Adam says, feeling a little shy about it.

George cups his jaw, looking him in the eyes and says, "how are you so perfect? You're really the entire package for me, aren't you? I'm never letting you get away, you realize that?"

Adam smiles and says, "good thing I don't ever want to go anywhere."

  
  
  
  


They eventually stand and turn the shower off, getting back out and drying off again.

George pulls his hair back, looking in the mirror and Adam can't help snaking his arms around George's waist.

Meeting his eyes in the mirror, George smiles wide and goofily at Adam before turning around to kiss him softly.

He keeps Adam close, pressing his forehead against Adam's temple and murmuring, "thank you so much, Adam. It means a lot that you were, not only willing to do that for me, but do the little bit of aftercare too. If you've never done that before, though, how did you know any of that?"

"I think it was a Reddit rabbit hole or something. There was this whole thing about the psychology of the sub/dom bond and connection and how to be safe and…. I have no idea. It didn't exactly strike me as something I would… be into? It wasn't like, immediately arousing, I guess. I just was a little fascinated by the concept and psychological side of it," Adam shrugs.

George had pulled away a bit to watch Adam talk, and has raised one eyebrow.

"So your geeky fascination of theorizing BDSM just came in hand?"

Adam laughs and says, "I guess so. And in practice, it turns out, it is much more arousing than it was just reading about it."

George giggles, leaning in to kiss him again.

They quickly dress, heading down the hall to George's room, pulling on the rest of their clothes- Adam putting his outfit from the previous night on, and George finding a pair of black jeans and a white and black loose top.

They make their way hand in hand to the kitchen, where they hear Matty and John talking.

As they come into the room, Matty and John both stop talking when they see George.

Matty's jaw drops and John is obviously biting back a grin.

"What?" George looks between them, confused. 

Neither of them respond for a moment, but John finally says, "well, I did tell you two to take your time getting ready."

"Sorry for the long shower," George says, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, sitting at the island counter beside Matty, across from John, who slides him a mug with coffee.

"Do you mean sorry for fucking in our shower?" Matty snips, but he's smiling.

George sighs, saying, "we didn't fuck in the sh- YOU have fucked in that shower before, you dickhead!"

Matty starts giggling and says, "nooooo, babe. I GOT fucked into that shower before," winking.

George shakes his head laughing, gesturing to the seat on his other side for Adam.

"Regardless, you two are already wonderful together, but I'm pretty pleased to see you've met someone who is into your, uh, kink," John says, pouring coffee for Adam and offering him cream and sugar. "That's weirdly sweet, like, you're that great for each other."

Adam is a bit surprised and looks over at George, who also looks stunned.

"What the fuck? How much did you hear?"

"We didn't hear anything, G! Your neck is red and you look high as fuck. Well, more than usual," Matty says, laughing. "You look like you're just remembering that your bones aren't jelly."

Adam hadn't even noticed that, yeah, George's neck is still a little red.

"It is a little obvious, since we both know you're into that, G," John says smiling. He looks at Adam and says, "you know how to be safe and care for him, I take it?"

Adam has never felt so interrogated and under a magnifying glass in his life, even though John didn't sound accusatory or challenging.

"I- Kind of," despite how much Adam is blushing and doesn't want to talk about his sex life with people he doesn't know that well, these are two people closest to George, and they do deserve to know if he is in good hands and safe, so he continues. "We didn't go very far with it, I let him tell me what he wanted and that's it, telling him to make me aware if it's too much. I was being careful and I… I've never done any of this, but I know a bit about subspace care and things like that. I- I got a bit fascinated by BDSM psychology at one point, though I never really thought I'd have the desire to participate."

"Huh, convenient," Matty says.

"Yeah, I didn't realize that information would come in hand until now."

"But- Okay, one thing I want to point out- and don't take this the wrong way- but you can't tell a sub to let you know if something's too much, you have to be able to tell, your intuition has to let you know, or he could get hurt if he's too far gone to say anything to you," Matty says.

Adam nods and says, "that makes sense. I just knew I wasn't going to be physically going very far."

"He didn't. Just a firm hand on the throat, a couple of quick squeezes and releases. No choking or anything," George says, reassuring Matty.

"I don't want to do anything too serious until we have a full discussion about boundaries and stuff. I'm not even sure how much I will be comfortable with until we talk about it, honestly."

"Thank you. That's really good to hear you say that, Adam," John says softly. "It's really important that you're being so responsible and proactive. I trust you to take care of him."

Adam smiles and looks at Matty.

"Yeah, communication is the most important part, so the fact that you're placing so much importance on that is a relief."

"It's really nice that you have people close to you that understand and know to make sure we're being safe," he says to George before looking between Matty and John. "Are you both into this kind of thing as well? Not to sound rude or intrusive."

"Not for me, really. Ross and I are a little bit boring. As vanilla as gay sex can be, I guess," John says, making them laugh.

"I am. Take a guess, I'm a typical sub," Matty says. "George is interesting, because he is a switch. So he can do either. I'd be such a shit dom."

"You're too twinky," George laughs.

Adam chews his lip, not sure how to ask what he's thinking, or even if he wants to know the answer.

After a while of Adam's noticeable silence, George slips his hand into Adam's, squeezing.

"Alright, luv?"

Adam meets his eyes, then looks at Matty and John, who are looking at him.

"Yeah, just taking everything in, I guess," he sips his coffee to avoid talking more. "Hey, I'm going to grab my shoes from your room."

He stands quickly, heading down the hallway and once in George's room, lets out a heavy, shaky breath.

"It's not a big deal, it's fine," he mumbles to himself.

He hears the door click shut and turns in surprise to see George standing, leaned against the door, looking a bit apprehensive. 

"You didn't even make a sound coming in here," Adam says.

"I'm shockingly light on my feet. What's going on?"

Adam sighs and says, "I may have found the thing that will make me jealous of Matty and you- your friendship. Maybe. I don't know. It's not something I'd considered until now so I am not sure."

George looks nervous, but clears his throat and moves to sit on the bed, saying, "okay… what is it?"

"If he's a sub, and you're switch…." Adam trails off, not wanting to keep talking.

George carefully watches Adam before saying, "so you want to know if I've been his dom before?"

"... it's not my business."

"Adam. I've never ever fucked Matty or vice versa."

"Okay," he says quietly.

"That's what would have gotten you?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I can't tell if I was about to be jealous or what. It wouldn't have mattered, though. Rationally. If you had, it was before we met and nothing can change it now. It would be a stupid thing to be upset over."

"Feelings aren't rational, though. But, it doesn't matter. It didn't happen. We've never done anything outright sexual with each other. We've definitely wanked in the same room. Talked about 'lending a hand', but decided that was a slippery slope. Living together, both being into men, being as close as we are? Can't open the gate a little on that one or we'd just be full on fucking each other the next day, right? Too easy and casual."

Adam chuckles a little.

".... I have put him down before. Put him in subspace. But not in a sexual way, just…." George sighs. "It's not easy to explain without making it sound sexual. I… I know you need to be getting home, but maybe I could come over after you're off work? Show you how what I've done with him goes and how it works? Just so you never have to feel, like, uncomfortable if he asks me to do that?"

Adam chews his lip, but nods.

"Okay. You don't have to. I trust you if you say it isn't sexual."

"I want to show you. I'd feel better if you knew what it was."

"Okay. I'll be home around 9pm tonight," Adam smiles, and George stands, coming over to him, pulling him into a gentle kiss before wrapping him up in his arms.

"Thank you so much, Adam, seriously. I know I keep thanking you, but I'm so grateful to have met someone who understands and cares and is as lovely as you are on top of everything. I'd never have imagined I'd get this lucky."

They stand holding each other for a bit before Adam grabs his shoes and they make their way back into the kitchen.

Adam stays long enough to finish his coffee, then says his goodbyes to John and Matty, George walking him to the door.

"I'll see you tonight," he says softly, kissing George. 

"Can't wait," he says, offering Adam a lopsided smile.

Adam really loves that smile.

He reluctantly turns away from that smile and heads down the stairs and to his car.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay. I got a bit stuck for a bit, but now I'm actually close to the end of this story!
> 
> And, I already have another idea for a second one with these two.

George looks a little nervous when he shows up that night.

Adam wraps him in his arms, kissing him.

"What is it?"

George chews his lip.

"Are you worried I'm going to be uncomfortable?"

"I guess."

"I promise I'll keep an open mind. If it makes me uncomfortable, I'll let you know. But it won't change how I feel about you, George."

George nods and goes over to the couch, setting his bag down and pets Stevie.

"Want some tea?"

"Sure. Thanks."

Adam goes about making some tea for them, and George joins him in the kitchen, followed by Stevie, who sits at their feet, hoping for any food.

They sit in the living room, drinking tea quietly for a bit, and Adam feels like he might choke on the thick tension in the air.

"Um. So…" he starts, but has nowhere to go with that.

George sets his tea down, turns to him, and finally just says, "we definitely don't have to do anything. I was just going to do exactly what I do with Matty- which, I mean. I don't do this a lot. Just like, every once in a while. It's not a super frequent thing. He trusts me and knows I know how to care for him, and it helps him sometimes."

"Well, why don't we just go through it slowly?"

"I know, I just…. Are you sure? Like, if I do this, and drop you…. Are you comfortable with that? You'll be completely vulnerable and raw. I will take care of you, but I have to be sure you fully trust me."

Adam slowly realizes that George meant to show Adam what he does by doing it to him.

He sets his tea down next to George's and rubs at his face.

"Okay. Um. I don't really know what I expected you to do, but it just occurred to me that you were planning to do this to me to show me… but I don't know why I thought that wasn't what was going to happen. How else would this work unless you brought Matty, I guess? Assuming he'd even be comfortable with me seeing that. I feel kind of dumb."

"Shit. Um, no, not dumb. I am so sorry I wasn't more clear about it. We absolutely do not have to do anything. You weren't mentally prepared for this, so it's understandable."

Adam chews his lip for a bit, wondering if he would be okay with this. He does feel comfortable enough with George, honestly, which catches him a little off guard, but he probably shouldn't be surprised by that.

He thinks for a while before finally saying, "what is it like?"

"It's different for everyone, but I was going to do something light, less physical pain than what Matty usually wants, just to be careful to not do anything you might not enjoy. It's kind of like, for lack of a better description, a high. This is generalizing, because it is different for each person, but, for me, it's a release. You give up your stress and worries and the world around you disappears. It's just you and your dom. It bonds you in a moment of a kind of euphoria. It can be a lot, though. I can do it without fully dropping you, so you stay present and aware at all times."

George looks very prepared and open as he talks, making Adam feel very safe, but he still seems apprehensive, and Adam wonders if it's strictly because he knows Adam hasn't done this before.

"And it's not sexual?" Adam finally asks.

"Unless we want it to be. If I'm just showing you what I do for Matty, then no. But it can be. But… I don't know how I'd feel about that right now. You've never done this. If you consent to that now, but wind up changing your mind while dropped, I would be taking from you while you're in a very vulnerable state, and that is something I am not willing to do ever. If we do this, and you think that it's something you'd like to try sexually, we could do that some time, but…. I'm not doing that tonight, if you do want me to show you this."

Adam stares at George for a long time, which eventually makes George shift a little nervously. 

"Thank you. That's…. You're a really amazing person, you know that?"

George raises an eyebrow. 

"Because I want to refrain from what is, very basically, rape?" 

"I guess. I just really appreciate you being so thoughtful and careful."

"Like we said this morning, all of this hinges on good communication. Consent is everything. You can't consent to something if you don't fully understand what it is."

Adam nods.

"Okay. Well. I feel very safe with you, especially after everything you just said. I really do feel like… I can trust you. Which is crazy, because, you know why," Adam chuckles a little, making George smile. "Um. Yeah, we can do this. What you do with Matty. Worst case scenario, I don't like it enough to do it again, right?"

"Well, yeah, I suppose. I mean, worst case scenario, really, is it freaks you out so badly that you never want to see me again, which would be devastating. But, I just want you to know right now, if you have a really bad experience with this, we will literally never do it again. I will never bring it up. Ever. And I will take very good care of you the whole time, I promise."

"I can't see myself not wanting to see you again, George…." Adam says, taking his hands. "I keep feeling surprised at myself around you, so I am surprised that I am willing to try this, but it wouldn't be so easy if it was anyone else. Even if they said everything you just said. I would not be comfortable. You make me feel comfortable. More than I ever have around anyone else. It's cheesy, but I mean it. Even if we weren't romantically involved. I would still feel this immediate connection that I've been feeling since we met. I don't know if you feel like this, too, but I keep feeling like... you're a magnet."

George smiles wide and says, "Adam, do you have any idea how many times during the rehearsal dinner and the wedding I had to stop myself from looking for you or going over to you? I was so drawn to you right away, I knew I was in trouble. Because I had no way of knowing any of this would happen. I keep thinking, what are the odds that I was going to go into that storage room and you were in there? But the whole time I was walking toward that room, I felt like, I HAD to. It wasn't just about the step ladder. I could assume it was in that room, but I could've found Penelope and asked her. But I felt like I HAD to go into that room. And you were there. I got so jealous when Matty was flirting with you literally moments after we'd just met. I wanted to physically remove him from that moment. I am not a super jealous or possessive person. When we came back into John's room from the wedding? I ran right into you, and instinctively KNEW it was you and grabbed your hips to keep you close, before I even had a chance to fully realize who was standing in front of me. So I know what you mean about feeling magnetic. It was a little terrifying, to be honest."

Adam is watching George talk, and doesn't realize his jaw has slowly dropped, stunned by what George is saying.

"R-Really?" He finally sputters out.

"Yes," George says firmly.

"Wow…. I always thought that theory about bonding and soulmates or whatever was maybe a bit farfetched, but isn't this sounding exactly like that? Wild."

"It is, isn't it?" George says softly, smiling slow.

Adam leans in a kisses George, rubbing his thumbs over his knuckles. 

After a bit, they pull apart and George stands, taking Adam's hands and pulling him up.

"You're absolutely sure about this?"

Adam nods, surprisingly not feeling any uncertainty.

George smiles and says, "okay. Well, I think in the bedroom is the best place to do this," he looks at Stevie laying on the couch and says, "sorry, luv, you gotta stay out here."

Adam goes to the kitchen and gets a peanut butter bone from the freezer, bringing it over to her and laying it on her blanket.

She excitedly starts licking at it.

"Has she already been outside to potty?" George asks.

Adam nods and says, "she should be good for a few hours."

George smiles and picks up his bag, leading Adam to his bedroom and they shut the door.

Adam sits on the bed, tapping his fingers on his knees, and George sets his bag on the chair, unzipping it.

He turns to Adam and says, "okay, so, if you need me to stop, what's your word?"

Adam thinks for a moment and says, "lemon?"

"Okay, that's good. And you know the traffic light thing? Red is stop, yellow is ease up, green is go?"

Adam nods and George smiles.

He steps toward Adam, leaning down to kiss him deeply.

"I'm going to take really good care of you, okay? I promise," he mumbles against Adam's lips before stepping back to look him in the eyes.

Adam nods and says, "I trust you."

George nods and says, "good. Ready?"

Adam nods again, and George turns to his bag, pulling out some sports drinks with sip lids, taking a sip from one.

He takes his shirt and shoes off and turns back to Adam, looking at him kind of darkly.

"Take your clothes off, all of them. Fold them neatly on the bed. Then kneel down right here," George says firmly, pointing at the floor in front of him, dropping a small cushion there. "I want room on all sides of you for me to move around."

Adam nods and says, "okay."

"Hush. Only speak if you need to."

Adam hesitates, but stands up and does what George said.

Once his clothes are nicely arranged on the bed, Adam carefully kneels down on the cushion, looking at George's hips, unsure if he should look up at him or not, and feeling a little awkward being naked and kneeling on the floor as George watches him.

George slides his fingers under Adam's chin, gently but firmly tipping his head up to make eye contact.

Adam melts at the look on his face. He looks so loving and gentle.

"That's so good, luv. You're being very good. Now, I'm going to start. Use the traffic light terms to let me know if you want me to stop or ease up, okay?"

Adam nods.

"Do you want a drink before we start?"

Adam shakes his head.

"Okay," George says. "Let me know if you do. You can just say 'drink' and I'll make sure you get it."

Adam nods again and George let's his fingers slip out from under his chin. He moves, going to his bag and pulls something out, but Adam can't see what it was before George moves around him, running the backs of his knuckles against Adam's cheek as he does.

Suddenly, something drags across his back, something solid, but covered in fabric with a few dangling parts. It's gone after a second, and then it smacks against his shoulder blades.

It's not too hard, but it makes Adam jump a little.

George does it again, harder.

Adam bites his lip, but wants to see where this goes.

It snaps against his butt and he gasps, but is interested. 

George does it again, much harder than before, and it stings, making him hiss.

There's a long pause where he thinks George is waiting to see if he will tell him to stop.

Adam waits patiently. 

He snaps it across his butt again, just as hard, before stepping close behind Adam, reaching a hand around his neck to gently cup Adam's jaw, massaging his throat gently. 

"So good. Adam," George tips his head back and meets his eyes. "Now, usually, Matty likes this, but harder, with some verbal taunting and I usually have a strap around his neck- a collar, pulling as I do this, with his wrists tied in front of him, and attached to the collar... Also, I'm usually not turned on, not by him, but I am right now," he chuckles.

Adam smiles up at George and says, "that's good to know."

"Are you doing alright?"

"Yes. I will tell you if I'm not, I promise."

"Okay."

"Um. You could do some of that other stuff."

George moves around to be in front of him, raising an eyebrow. 

"I'd like to try it," he says, being more specific with his words. 

"Which things? You said 'some'."

"I- I'm not sure if I would like the taunting. The sound of that is…"

"Okay. No verbal abuse. What I've said so far is okay, though? The commands?"

Adam nods.

"Just no teasing or name-calling?"

Adam nods again.

George waits, watching him, and Adam meets his eyes, saying, "I'd like to try you tying my wrists and putting a collar around my neck."

"Okay. Thank you for saying it. I am not going to be pulling on the collar today. We could work up to that if you like the feel, but I won't be doing that tonight."

"We could try it, just once or something."

"No. We can try it some other time, luv," George says, a bit harshly.

He squats down and gently kisses Adam's forehead.

"Sorry. But trust me, okay?"

Adam nods.

George smiles softly and stands, going back to his bag and rooting around.

Adam gets a look at what George was using on his back, and it looks like a leather-wrapped riding crop.

He shivers a little at it.

George comes back over to him, kneeling down and carefully slipping the collar around Adam's neck.

Adam leans forward as George clicks it shut.

Adam looks up at George through his eyelashes, watching as he adjusts the collar and clips a kind of short leash to it, making sure that it's behind Adam.

He realizes that Adam is watching him and meets his eyes, stopping and inhaling sharply.

"You should see how you look right now," George says, stroking a thumb along Adam's jaw.

He mutters something under his breath before forcing himself to stand up, grabbing the straps from his bag, sliding them over Adam's hands and tightening them, pulling his wrists together, then looping it through a ring on the collar.

He steps back and looks at Adam carefully.

"Alright, luv?"

Adam nods and George steps back smoothing a hand over Adam's forehead, pushing his hair back.

"Gorgeous."

He moves around Adam and slowly builds back up with the riding crop.

Adam can't really decide how he feels about this. He likes that George is doing this, he likes the idea, but nothing really seems to be happening for him.

He definitely doesn't mind the fact that this is something George does for Matty sometimes.

_ Unless….. _

"Red. Lemon."

George stops on a dime and steps behind Adam, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"What is it? Too hard?"

Adam shakes his head, chewing his lip.

When George doesn't get anything out of him, he moves around him to kneel in front of him, meeting his eyes.

"Adam, you have to talk to me, luv. What is it?"

"I…. I am not feeling much of anything. It's not bad, but that's kind of it for me. I'm sorry, is that okay?"

"Of course! Adam, you're allowed to not like things," George laughs, reaching forward to undo his wrists. "I didn't know if this would affect you or not, I just wanted to prepare for if it did and-"

"George."

George stops and he meets Adam's eyes.

"What is it like for Matty?"

"Oh, um, he just gets kind of like, loose. He's gone completely limp and kind of collapsed slowly before. It just takes all of the tension out of his body, so when he's had a rough go, and I do this, it's like a shock to his system a bit, but in a good way for him."

"What's his aftercare like?"

"Usually, I get him untied and everything, pick him up and carry him to his bed, wrap him up really tight in his blankets to keep him warm and feeling safe, I will usually crack open his window and have a smoke while keeping a hand on his cheek, so he knows I'm there still. Talk to him a bit, mundane stuff about cute dogs I saw that day or what the weather is supposed to be like the next day. Sometimes, he's asleep by the end of my cigarette. I check on him periodically, but just let him sleep. Sometimes I sit beside him on his bed and keep him company. The next day, when he wakes up, he requires a lot more attention. He wants- or needs- to be taken care of completely. 'George, make me food. Can you get me a cup? Can you turn that light on? Please give me a hug'. All day. He could physically do those things, but he just needs to know that if he asks me to, I will. And he's very physically needy. He will barely spend more than 15 minutes out of my personal space. He has to have an arm around my waist or be leaned against me or sometimes he'll literally just hold a handful of my shirt or the side of a pants pocket or a sleeve, just to be making some contact. It grounds him."

Adam nods quietly, watching George's face as he talks and finishes removing the collar and straps from Adam.

He sits back and meets Adam's eyes.

"Usually, that just means we spend the day laying on the couch or in bed watching a movie and ordering takeout."

Adam nods again, picking his underwear up off the bed and sliding them on before sitting cross-legged on the floor across from George.

"Adam, is that- are you okay? You haven't said a word."

"I think so. None of what you said makes me uncomfortable."

"Okay. There's something else on your mind, though?"

Adam looks up to meet his eyes and sees a tiny smile under his concern.

"I feel a little bad?"

George immediately looks confused.

"Why?"

"Because, I could tell you were enjoying that, but I just…. I don't know."

George chuckles and crawls to be right in front of Adam, cupping his jaw and making him look into his eyes.

"Darling, you have no idea. I don't usually like that quite so much. It's kind of just… work. When I do it for Matty, it's just me doing something for him. Seeing you like that…. Oof, I liked that. In a way less platonic way," George giggles a little, kissing Adam and saying, "I wasn't ready for how that made me feel. But I'm just into you no matter what, so it's not a big issue if you don't want to do that, try that in bed, I'm alright without, trust me."

"I actually would like to. Maybe that's why there was an initial appeal for me? When I first was thinking about how I might like you putting the collar and cuffs on me? Maybe I might like it if it was sexual?"

George stares at him in awe and says, "well, that's something we could explore then. I- yeah."

Adam laughs and George stands, pulling him to his feet, wrapping his arms around him.

Adam's arms go around his shoulders and they lean their foreheads together.

"Honestly, Adam, I do want to do that. I like the thought a lot. Being dom is nice. But, um, if I'm going to be very honest…. What you did for me in the shower? That's the first time in six years anyone has kind of been dom for me, and it's my favorite shit."

Adam pulls back in surprise.

"Six years?"

George nods, biting his lip.

"H-Have you just not felt comfortable enough to ask or-?"

"It's partially that, but… it's not easy to find people who want to do that, or, specifically, want to dom for me. Downside to being a bigger guy, I guess?"

"Shit."

"I actually looked online a bit at one point, last year. I was going to see if on some forums or something, someone was specifically willing to dom for a guy my size. Like, maybe it's me being my size that makes me know not to become physically incapable, so nobody has to carry me like I do to Matty. But I don't do that, I can move and everything. But not a lot of doms will look at me and be thrilled. All they're thinking about is 'oh, I've got to do aftercare on a fuckin giant'. It's kind of tough."

He laughs a little, but Adam can't.

When George realizes Adam isn't laughing too, he meets his eyes again, and is met with sadness.

"Oh, luv, it's alright. I get it. And it's not like it's the only way I can get off or anything, so it's fine. Just…. What you did was a real fuckin treat for me, and I don't think you know how happy it made me."

Adam pulls George in close, wrapping him up tightly.

"It's still not fair that you don't get to have that. Like having an itch that nobody will scratch."

"Oh, I don't know if it's that bad, I still get scratched in other ways."

"But you said that's your favorite. That's like, when you're dating a girl who doesn't like to give blowjobs. You're happy having sex and getting handjobs, and you're not going to ask her to do it, but there's a longing."

George cracks up and Adam grins.

"That's fuckin true, innit? Guess you've got a point there," they go to lay down, Adam sliding an arm under George's head and bringing him in close. "That's sort of the same thing I go through with this. And the thing is, I don't even want that much. Like, the stuff Matty's into sexually? He's told me about it. I just… that seems like so much work, honestly. I mean, we all settle for less when we have partners who aren't into it, but even being into it, that would be so much planning and stuff. I just want hands on my throat. Some other things, but mostly just that."

"What other things?" Adam asks, threading a hand through George's hair.

He sees George chewing on his lip for a minute before he finally says, "um, I like being tied up. And slapped. Just a little, I don't want to be like, getting the piss smacked out of me. But like…. I don't want to bring up an ex, but um, Billie would tie my wrists and ankles down to the bedposts, and, while riding me, smack me a few times throughout. And finish with her hands around my neck, not really pressing or choking me, just firm. That's like, ideal for me. It's definitely what I want, but it's not tons of work for anyone. And aftercare is easy, because I'm already in bed. Just untie me and curl up beside me and I'm good."

Adam smiles at him for a bit, before saying, "alright, consider it a plan, then."

George sits up fast and looks at Adam.

"Serious?"

Adam nods.

"Of course, luv. I'll do that for you, sounds like a good time for me, too."

George smiles and leans in quickly to clumsily kiss Adam.

Adam laughs, breaking the kiss, and George presses his face into his neck, mumbling, "thank you. You're such an angel."

Adam smiles, wrapping his arms around George tight.

They lay talking for a while, George telling Adam some details about specifically what he likes and doesn't like, and what he needs during aftercare.

Adam lays silently listening, and just stares up at the ceiling for a while.

"Adam?"

He looks back at George and asks, "G, what's your like, biggest fantasy? Like, the thing you want to do the most that you won't ask for or are nervous to ask for?"

George chews his lip and stares at Adam.

Adam just stares back, making sure his face never changes, trying to prove to George that he's comfortable and George can tell him without judgement.

"What's yours?" George says.

"To get absolutely railed at the top of the Eiffel Tower," Adam says quickly.

George barks out a laugh in surprise and Adam has to wait a moment while he regains composure, giggling at how hard George is laughing.

"That's amazing. I was definitely not expecting you to say that. Oh, fucking hell, that was great."

"I don't even know if that's exactly what my ultimate fantasy would be necessarily, but it sounds like a good time and I know I probably won't ever get to unless the world ends or I am prepared to go to jail."

George chuckles a little and presses his face against the side of Adam's, mumbling against Adam's cheek, "you're so fucking cute and funny, d'you know that?"

Adam smiles and says, "a major compliment from you. Now come on, what's your fantasy?"

George kind of sighs a little.

"Were you hoping I'd forgotten?"

"A little."

"Why are you so reluctant to tell me? I understand that we don't have to do it if it's not something I'm into, I'll feel bad, but I know I can make up for it in other ways so-"

"That's not it."

"What is it then?" Adam says gently, stroking his fingers through George's hair.

"I…. I guess I'm kind of boring? I don't know. Fantasy for me is about the other person. I base it off of who I'm with. Like, as soon as I mention a thing I could do with that person, and they're into it, that's my new ultimate fantasy."

"Oh. Oh! So…. So, you telling me about the thing with Billie was for a reason?"

"Yeah. Imagining you doing that to me, while growling in my ear like you were in the shower is, um, I-"

Adam grins at how flustered George has gotten.

"Well, guess it's a good thing I already said I want to do that."

George nods excitedly, meeting Adam's eyes again.

"And um, I also think it'd be fun the other way, with, um, with me tied face down, and um," George chews his lip again before saying, "well, ideally, you'd be fucking me, and pulling on a leash with the collar on, or um, with a bit in my mouth..."

"Is that… like, horses?"

"Yeah…" George is blushing and hides his face against Adam's shoulder.

"G, you don't have to be embarrassed," Adam says, lifting his head a little, making George meet his eyes again.

"I'm not into pony play, really, I just like that part. I want to clarify."

"Pony play? That's what it's called?"

"Yeah, but I just like the bit gag, I don't want hooves or a saddle or to wear a leather horse mask or…. Any of that."

"That's wild. I'd never even heard of anything like that. People do that? And it's sexual? Like, okay, the bit? I get that, I get how that's sexual. But… dressing up as a horse, basically, is sexual?"

"To some people, I suppose. It was actually funny when I bought the bit I have. I went to a shop and was just looking around, and saw that. I'd never really thought about something like that, but it made my mouth water as soon as my brain processed what it was for. I had to have it. And I went to pick it up, looking at it, and this guy came out of nowhere and just… 'oh you're into pony play? I love that bit. If you need a new saddle, there's this guy I know who's making custom ones that are lovely'. And I was so confused and just staring at him, and I notice he's holding a silver and black horse tail butt plug. I just… I almost just backed away and took off right then. But I really wanted that fucking bit. So I took a breath and said, 'I don't know what you're talking about. I just was looking around, saw this, and knew I wanted to try it'. This guy grins, looks me up and down, and says, 'oh, so you've never done pony play? Maybe, if you're curious, I could introduce you? You're pretty good-looking, y'know'. I had to work to not laugh in his face, that would have been mean as fuck, but I guess I smiled a little, because he takes a step forward and says, 'yeah? You interested in that?' and I just put a hand up and told him 'absolutely not, no. I appreciate your offer and all, but that's not gonna happen, sorry, mate'. He was like, 'oh, sorry, do you have a boyfriend?' I told him, 'no, I'm just not into the horse thing. This bit just looked good. I'm gonna go now. But good luck with finding your pony'. And I've never paid and left so fast."

Adam and George are both laughing hard by the end of the story.

"It's fine that he's into that, but just… was he just waiting around for someone he thought was attractive to walk over to that section?"

George laughs harder and says, "that's what Matty thought too!"

They finally calm down again and Adam says, "I don't think I've ever been in one of those shops."

"A toy shop?"

Adam nods.

"Baby Adam never went to an intimate toy shop?" George giggles.

Adam sighs, but he's smiling.

"We should absolutely go sometime, in that case."

"I don't know…"

"I'll hold your hand and kiss your blushing cheeks the whole time, promise," George grins.

"What if pony guy is there? He'll be so disappointed."

George loses it again, laughing hard into Adam's shoulder.

"Nah, luv, that was in the states. In California. I think we'll be safe from him here," he finally says.

They get up after a bit, Adam sliding his jeans and shirt on, George pulling his shirt back on.

"Do you have the bit with you?" Adam says softly.

George looks at him, chewing his lip, eventually going and reaching into the bag.

He pulls it out and clips a leather strap to each end, handing it to Adam.

Adam turns it over in his fingers, George watching him carefully.

It's dark blue, soft silicone, but has a hard middle, a bronze bar that sticks out the ends and has a ring on each end, allowing the straps to clip on. Adam assumes that it's so you could have different straps on it, or just pop it in your mouth by itself. The straps that are on it now are leather, a buckle like a belt to keep it closed behind the head, and there is a hook for a leash to clip on.

"Is it okay if I-? I'm really curious how it feels."

George nods, lips parting, but he stays silent.

Adam gently puts it in his mouth and just holds the straps to the side of his face.

Biting down lightly, and gently pulling on the straps, he thinks about how that might feel in a sexual situation. He's surprised to find the idea is appealing to him.

He slips it out of his mouth and says, "yeah, I can see how that's good."

George nods, still just quietly watching him, inhaling shakily.

Adam doesn't miss that and cocks his head.

"George?"

George turns and goes back into the bag, fishing around before coming over with a longer leather rope and takes the bit from Adam with shaky hands, clipping each side of the leather rope to the hooks where the strap is clipped.

"There's also these reins…" he says so quiet and breathily that Adam almost thinks he's just whispering.

He slips his fingers around each of George's wrists as he holds the bit up, showing Adam, and their eyes meet.

"George… just showing me this is having this effect on you…"

"I've never actually shown anyone but Matty this. And I've never had anyone use it with me."

Adam's eyebrows shoot up.

"Wait, what? You've bought this, and nobody's ever used it on you?"

"I've been too nervous to ask anyone I've been with since I bought it. I just…. I-" he looks down chewing his lip and finally says, "none of them would've been into this. Especially not doing it to me. Which is fine. I'm not resentful or whatever. I, uh, I've used it by myself, looping the reins around things so I can pull against it…" he looks back up, meeting Adam's eyes again, with so much intensity. "Then you legitimately wanted to see it, wanted to see how it feels, and your response is that you get it, which I'm guessing means you're at least a little into the idea of doing that…"

Adam nods slowly with a small smile.

George inhales a sharp, shaky breath, looking down again.

"I'd be pretty down to use this on you, if it's what you want me to do for you. And, honestly, I'd be interested in trying it, too. Maybe without it being pulled on, just strapped around my head, but, it definitely is appealing…"

George reacts like all the air was knocked out of him, and he steps away, putting the bit and reins back in the bag, and running his hand across his face, leaving it loosely covering his mouth, brows knit together and he can't seem to stand still, but seems a little unsteady.

"George?"

He looks back over at Adam with a small, weak smile, and then quickly steps into Adam's space, wrapping him in a tight, crushing embrace, burying his face down into Adam's neck roughly.

"You do not know how fucking much that means to me," George mumbles.

Adam rubs his back and tangles one hand into George's hair, turning his head to kiss George's.

George finally pulls away and his eyes look just the slightest bit wet and glassy.

"I really hit the jackpot meeting you, didn't I?"

Adam smiles and leans forward to kiss George gently, saying, "well, we definitely feel the same about that. I'm really happy you feel comfortable sharing all of this with me. It makes me really happy that I could maybe give you this. Hopefully I can. I might be awful at this," he laughs.

"I have no doubt you'll be amazing. You already are."

George falls against him again, and Adam rubs his hands up and down his back.

After a while, they finally pull apart, George's hands on Adam's hips as he smiles at him.

"Thank you."

"Of course, luv."

"Oh, I think I could go for a smoke."

Adam chuckles and says, "sure."

They open the door, Stevie barrelling in and jumping around excitedly.

"Let's go outside, pup," Adam says, and they head out to the back yard with her bounding along behind them.

George doesn't let go of his hand the whole time, even when Adam's opening the back door or anything, and Adam can feel his shy giddiness bubbling up from him the whole time.

His heart swells so much it aches his chest at the very idea he could make George this happy.

When they go to bed, George curls into him, smiling so dopey and silly, and Adam holds him close.

Neither of them even move when Stevie jumps onto the bed, laying across their feet.

George peers up at him, still smiling adorably, and Adam runs his fingers gently across his scalp.

He tips his head up and kisses Adam, and they just lay there, lazily and slowly kissing for a long time.


	18. Chapter 18

The next morning, George reluctantly leaves when they're out in the yard with Stevie, telling Adam that he and Matty have a gig in Palma, and they wouldn't be back until Saturday morning.

Adam smiles when George tells him that he will miss him and will probably text him too much.

"I'll miss you, and you could never text me too much, luv. I'll always be happy to see messages from you."

They kiss for a while before Stevie wants attention, jumping on George and he breaks the kiss, laughing before squatting down to say goodbye to her.

He stands and says goodbye to Adam, kissing him again before reluctantly walking to the fence.

Adam smiles for a long time after he's gone, riding the high of being with someone who makes him this happy.

  
  
  


Over the next few days, when he and George aren't messaging each other, Adam busies himself with work, plays guitar, and teaches Stevie to do a new trick- spinning around.

He's a little wary of how much he really does miss George, since they've only known each other for such a short time.

The idea that he has already gotten this attached to someone scares him a bit, but he can't help being more happy than worried.

And he likes that it's really easy to see how much George feels the same way.

Alex has been really nice to him at work, not teasing him, so he must see how much Adam actually misses George, which makes him feel a bit pathetic, but whatever works.

On Thursday night, John texts Adam, saying that he is all George has talked about since they met, and he's really happy that George met him, which almost makes Adam get choked up, but he manages to hold it together.

Then on Friday, Matty sends Adam a picture of George sitting shirtless by a pool with some kind of bright cocktail and there's a bunch of emojis. He quickly adds, "we r in 1 of the most beautiful places & surrounded by all these beautiful ppl but he has not SHUT UP bout u the whole fckin time we been here."

Adam smiles wide and sends back, "awwww. Srry I'm making him drive u nuts. But that's so cute. Fuck."

Matty sends him some laughing emojis and then "he misses u. He doesn't wnt to 'bug you', but if u rnt doin smthn rn u should facetime him. We r just loungin round. Some fit bird came ovr & tried to chat him up a bit ago. He tells her 'oh luv I'm flattered but I've got the sweetest most gorgeous boyfriend back home'." It's followed by a few gagging and puking emojis, then a few heart-eyes.

Adam laughs and sends back, "awwww. I'm a lucky guy, aren't I?"

Matty sends, "u r. Dnt ever 4get it."

Adam responds with, "I won't."

He switches to a message with George, saying, "busy?"

George immediately texts back, "No."

Adam checks himself in the mirror and then sends George a FaceTime request.

George answers quickly, and is smiling wide, looking happy and gorgeous in the sunshine.

"Hello luv! What a nice surprise! I was just thinking about how I wanted to see your lovely face," George says.

Adam chuckles and says, "I was really wanting to see you, as well. You look like you're having a good time."

"Well, I am, but it would be a lot better if you were here with me, ya know."

"Aw, you… I'd steer away all the girls who come up to you trying to chat you up, then," Adam laughs.

George's smile falters and he stands up, walking away from his chair a bit, moving into some covered area.

"Did Matty text you?"

"Oh, I…. Yeah. But I just meant in general."

"....okay."

George chews his lip a bit, looking away.

"Hey, what is it?"

George looks back and Adam really wishes he didn't have sunglasses on.

"Do you trust me here?"

Adam furrows his eyebrows and says, "what do you mean?"

George just chews his lip again.

"Wait, do you mean… no, George, it was just a joke. I definitely wasn't calling because I was like, worried about you going off with someone else or something. Matty told me you missed me and weren't busy, and I miss you, so I wanted to see your face. That's all. Even if I didn't trust you or something, Matty told me what you said to that girl, which would be very reassuring, and is also really cute."

George gives a small smile and nods.

"Okay."

"I'm not THAT nervous of a person, George. I have a hard time believing you would do anything behind my back."

George slides his sunglasses up on top of his head and smiles at Adam.

"I promise, I would never. I can't imagine doing anything that would cause me to lose you. I, um. This is probably the worst possible time to tell you this, but I want to be as honest with you as I possibly can, so… um… I have before… I've cheated once. I… I'm definitely not proud of myself for that, and I never have hated myself as much as then. I was really pissed at a party and this girl was throwing herself at me all night. I knew my girlfriend would never find out, but I couldn't let her think I was perfect and… I couldn't let her go on like that. I'm not comfortable with hiding things. She wasn't really a good girlfriend, but she still didn't deserve that. So I told her the next day and she broke up with me. I found out later that she had been cheating on me with her boss for like, months of us being together. His wife found out and somehow got in touch with me. Not going to lie, her and I hooked up. Revenge sex, I guess, not that I had any room to be upset, but she was really into it, getting even, I guess."

Adam chuckles a little.

"I just…. I don't want you to worry, but I'm not going to pretend I've always been a saint or whatever. I was like, 19? Just a dumb-shit kid. I never want to make someone feel like that. Betray someone. And, honestly, I never want to feel how that made me feel ever again…. I'm sorry if that makes you…. I don't know. I-...."

Adam watches George run his hand over his face and along the back of his neck.

"George. Everyone fucks up. I'm not perfect either. Thank you for being so honest with me. It means a lot."

"...Adam, I know you say you're not perfect, but…" George chuckles and says, "what's the worst fuck up you've had in a relationship? Have you ever cheated or anything?"

"Well…. No. But I… I was dating this girl in college. When we had been together for 7 months, she told me she loved me and wanted to move in together. I just panicked so much. I told her I wasn't in love with her. I said that to her face. After she'd just told me she was in love with me."

"O-Oh my god. Adam! That's not the same! I mean, yeah, that hurts, but that's better than lying to her!"

"Well…"

"Adam, luv, that's- is THAT the worst thing you've done to a significant other?"

"I- She cried!"

"Of course she did, but you didn't betray her or ruin her life or anything. It's so much better for her to know you're not in love with her back before moving in with each other. She probably realized that later," George says, smiling at Adam. "So, like I thought, you're an absolute angel who couldn't actually hurt anyone outright?"

Adam smiles and sighs, making George laugh.

"You know it's dangerous to put me up on such a pedestal, right?"

George nods and says, "I know. I know you're fallible and flawed. Though, I've yet to see any evidence of that," he grins.

"Well, I've yet to actually witness you doing anything hurtful or whatever. So."

"I really hope you just never do," George says softly.

Adam smiles.

"So, I have a good idea for your birthday, yeah?" Adam says, changing the subject. "I'm going to bring Stevie along, bring my guitar along, and your gift- obviously- and then I have a pretty huge surprise for later on in the night, but I'm not telling you that yet. But maybe we could all jam a bit, if everyone's up for that?"

George grins and says, "so mysterious. I love your plan, though. I mean, you do know that just you showing up is already an amazing gift, yeah? Like, you are already a lovely gift. Seeing that cute smile is a perfect present."

Adam laughs and says, "you're so cheesy, luv."

George bites down a grin and says, "sorry."

"Nah, you're just lucky I'm such a sucker for it."

George laughs and there's some shouting and cheering in the background, catching his attention.

He looks back and says, "hey, luv. I gotta be going, but I will talk to you soon, yeah?"

"Of course. I'm free all night and tomorrow until 9am. And I'll see you tomorrow night."

George grins and says, "of course, handsome. Can't wait."

"Bye, George," Adam says softly.

"Bye, Adam," George blows a kiss at the screen before disconnecting.

Adam smiles the rest of the day, and as he's just finishing giving Stevie a bath, his phone buzzes from the counter. He grabs it and sees Matty calling him.

_ That doesn't seem like a good sign. _

He answers and is met with George's voice.

"Hey, why are you calling from Matty's phone?"

"Mine died. Like stopped working entirely. It's fucked."

"Oh no!"

"I think it'll be okay, just have to get a new one tomorrow when I'm back. Luckily, I back up all of my stuff so I won't lose anything."

"That's good, luv."

"So…. I was really upset earlier, and I wanted to call you then, but I didn't want to bother you since we had just talked a bit before…"

"G, you can call me basically whenever. If I'm working I won't answer, but I'll text you to let you know I'll call back later. Any other time, I'll definitely answer. And if you were upset, I'd definitely want to be there for you."

"Okay…."

"Now, what were you upset about, luv?"

"I-" George sighs and finally says, "remember when we got off the phone, there was all that yelling and stuff?"

"Yeah."

"Well, it was some girl making out with Matty and her friends were cheering about it. It's this festival we're doing tonight, it started last night and goes til Sunday. Anyway, it's these barely legal festival goers. This group came up, mostly Swedes and Brits, but I'm sure there were some others. Anyway, this Swedish girl and Matty started snogging and everyone was cheering. So I got off the phone and went over to see what was going on. Matty pulls away from her, laughing and yelling, 'George, this whole group is going to be at our gig tonight!' And I kind of cheered a little, they all started cheering and this girl just grabs my face and starts kissing me! I pulled her away by her shoulders and was like, trying so hard not to shout at her. I just was like, 'no, no, luv. He can do that, but I'm not doing that. I'm in a relationship and I'm happy, so no thanks,' or something and just got out of there. I was pretty upset. Matty came and found me eventually, with that girl. Apparently, she wanted to apologize to me, which was sweet, but I just… I was so upset. I was just telling you about how I didn't want anything to happen like that and like, I dunno. What if somehow, you just saw a picture of her snogging me? How much of a liar would you think I was? I was just so upset. And my phone fell out of my hand when it happened- I was so surprised, I dropped my phone. And it fucked it up. Then I couldn't even call you when I panicked about, like, 'what if someone DID take a picture?!' I-...." George trails off with a sigh and Adam can tell he's running his hand through his hair. "But I didn't want to go looking for Matty, because I didn't know if all of those people were still out there, and I just didn't want to deal with them. So I just sat at the hotel bar being upset and panicked for almost 2 hours."

Adam smiles sadly and says, "oh, luv. I'm so sorry."

"...Adam… I'M sorry."

"What? Why are you so sorry? You didn't kiss her, right?"

"No, but I-..."

"George, walk me through how any of this is your fault."

George doesn't respond and Adam hears a tone in his ear and looks at the screen. 

It's a couple of snaps from Alex. Then another that's just a message saying, "you really bagged a good one. George is solid."

"Hang on just one second, okay, G?"

"Okay."

Adam taps the snap and, it's from Alex's sister, her videoing around the crowd of cheering people, stopping on Matty snogging some blonde in a bikini. 

Adam suddenly remembers Alex talking about his sister going to this festival when Adam told him where George's gig was.

_ What are the odds? _

The second video has a bit of text on the bottom of the screen that says 'ur boss s bf is good'. It starts panning around, catching literally the moment George's hands go to the girl's shoulders to push her back- definitely more roughly than George let on. And he looks furious.

Adam can't help but smile a little about it.

He quickly sends back to Alex, 'he was just calling me about this because he's so upset, and got worried I'd see just a picture or something of just the kiss, and think he's cheating or something. Bless your sister, I guess.'

'Aw. Also, tell Matty that he's not the first performer her friends have gotten off with since the festival started, and probably won't be the last, so don't let him feel too special about it lol'

Adam laughs and says, 'got it'.

He screenshots the convo, and saves the snap, sending both to George on Matty's phone before bringing the phone back up to his ear.

"Well, what a coincidence. Alex's sister was one of those barely legals. She got a snap of all that, but I'm pretty sure I would've been reassured by what she caught. You look furious, luv."

"Oh god, let me look at it," George groans. After a brief silence, George comes back and says, "wow, I was much rougher about it than I thought. I was pretty upset, though."

"Fair enough. Who even kisses a stranger without asking first? How inconsiderate."

George laughs and says, "I'm so glad you aren't upset. I for sure was."

"George, would you be cross with me if some girl ran up and started kissing me, but I pushed her away?"

"No."

"So, why would I be mad right now?"

"I know…"

"I'm more upset that she didn't care about your consent. Disregarded your feelings."

George laughs and says, "you're so sweet."

"So are you. What time is your gig tonight, luv?"

"Ugh, we have to leave for it in like, 10 minutes. I don't want to get off the phone with you though…"

"How about this: I'll be here if you want to talk when you're done?"

"That's so lovely of you, but I am not waking you up at two in the morning when I'm going to see you tomorrow. I can hold on. I mean, I'm not THAT pathetic, right?"

Adam giggles and says, "okay, well, you have fun, luv. Try not to get attacked and snogged by anymore random girls, can't have you getting too mad at them for trying to get off with someone so gorgeous and lovely," he can hear George sigh, but he just keeps going. "Can't wait to see you tomorrow. I hope you like what I'm going to surprise you with for your birthday. I know you will, but I'm really excited."

"I am too. Just excited to see you."

There's a long pause before Adam finally says, "goodnight, luv."

"Goodnight, sweetheart."

Adam smiles at that slowly bringing the phone away to hang up.


	19. Chapter 19

The next day is a whirlwind.

Adam gets a text from George, letting him know that he got a new phone and he's so excited to see Adam.

Adam smiles and sends back, "excited to see u luv," before slipping his phone back into his pocket and walking over to Alex, who is talking to a guest of the garden party they're catering.

Alex looks completely fed up, but is playing polite with the guest well enough. Adam's known him long enough to see the frustration bubbling up, though.

"Well, unfortunately, that's not something I am able to do, but any of these drinks are available. This is the predetermined list of cocktails from the hosts for the event, and they did not request we bring anything additional."

"Well, that seems like poor planning," the man snips.

Adam steps behind the bar beside Alex and eyes the man, a very obviously well-off short man in his 40s or 50s who looks very unaccustomed to being told 'no'.

"Hello, I'm Adam Hann, co-owner of Crisp. Is there something I could assist you with, sir?" Adam says, smiling, but letting it show in his tone that the man is directly insulting him at this point.

"Lord Richard von Pemble of Curdy White," the man says with a tight smile.

Adam holds back his eye roll and just waits for the man to get on with it.

"I was ordering a Caipirinha, but the young lad tells me you are not equipped for that?"

Adam inwardly groans at the statement loaded with condescension and passive aggressive tones.

"Well, what our lead bartender, Alex might have said is that the liquors we have for this particular event were requested and approved by the hosts for a set menu. And since they did not request that we have cachaça for any of the drinks on the menu they asked us to make, we would be unable to make it in the traditional Brazilian style today. Alex is very capable and accommodating, so perhaps he could make a caipiroska, which uses vodka, if that would be sufficient. Or you can order one of the cocktails on this menu that was pre-arranged with the hosts."

Adam keeps his tone level and offers a tight smile back to the man.

He may be shy and non-confrontational, but Adam will not put up with rude guests belittling his employees, and he has always stood firm on that.

So he keeps his posture and face firm, but neutral, and doesn't break eye contact with the man.

The man breaks first, looking down at the menu before him and says, "right, well. I suppose a caipiroska would suffice. Thank you."

"Thank you for being understanding. Alex is an excellent mixologist, and I have no doubt he will make you a delicious drink," Adam says, putting his hands on Alex's shoulders with a big phony smile before stepping away, giving one last glance to Alex as they share a look. "Enjoy the rest of the party," Adam says to the man before fully walking away.

He spots Jamie on the phone behind some shrubs, having a cigarette, and makes his way to him.

"Alright, that sounds lovely, we will see you Monday evening. Thank you," Jamie says before hanging up and meeting Adam's eyes, looking exasperated.

"Oh no."

"People really don't understand what 'no' means today, do they, mate?"

Adam chuckles as Jamie hands Adam a cigarette and lighter.

"Funny you should say that. I just had to take Lord von Snippy down a notch for treating Alex like some clueless child who dares to not stock this British garden party in March with Brazilian cocktails," Adam says, motioning toward the man at the bar, tasting the drink as Alex looks wildly unimpressed.

Jamie sighs and says, "I hate doing these stuffy parties. I miss John and Ross and their guests," making Adam laugh. He gives Adam a look and says, "I guess you miss one of them pretty bad, huh?"

Adam bites down a huge smile and says, "yeah. I will see him tonight, though. Actually, all of them will be there. John and Ross are flying out for their honeymoon tomorrow. Couldn't miss George's birthday."

"Course not. What is George getting for his birthday from his boyfriend?" Jamie says, waggling his eyebrows suggestively at Adam.

"Piss off," Adam murmurs, blushing and looking down as he takes a drag.

"Ooh! You've gone red!"

"God, when did you become a schoolgirl? You're as bad as 'Lex now."

Jamie laughs and says, "you're still not answering my question."

Adam sighs and says, "I got him a really nice drum throne. He mentioned the one he has isn't in good shape anymore, so I made sure with Matty that he hadn't gotten a new one yet and-"

"Drum throne?"

"A stool."

"Ah. Okay, go on."

"So I got that and…. And a book."

"Wow. A book. What are you so red about then? What book?"

Adam chews his lip. He tells Jamie everything, but this feels like it's too private. Kind of spilling a secret part of George that he doesn't even share with too many people.

"Oh shit, it's a Kama Sutra manual or something, innit?"

"No. It's not."

"Something spicy, though. Look at your face."

Adam sighs again.

"It's not like I'm going to tell anyone. Or judge."

"You swear?"

"Of course. What are we, a couple of year 8's?"

"You might be."

"Hush. Come on, now. If it's really that secretive, you don't have to tell me. I wouldn't want you to feel like you abused his trust or something. I'm just really happy to see you so over the moon about someone. And he's a wonderful chap."

"You should come with tonight. Bet you'd get on so well with Matty."

"Oh, I'm not invited, am I?"

"I'll ask. You're my best mate, I'm sure it won't be an issue."

Jamie smiles and Adam texts George, who is more than happy to extend the invitation to Jamie.

"Wanna bring Alex too?" George asks.

Adam smiles and sends back, "ur so sweet. He deserves smthn fun 2nite. Rude guests 2day."

"Oh no."

"We'll tell u bout it 2nite."

He adds a kissing emoji before slipping his phone into his pocket.

"He extended the offer to Alex as well. That's sweet."

"Aww, Alex will love that. I'll go relieve him for a break and send him your way so you can tell him."

Adam smiles as Jamie heads off.

His phone buzzes again and he checks it to see George sent a picture of himself making a silly kissing face.

Adam's ribcage feels too small.

"What's goin on, boss?"

He turns to see Alex coming over to him.

"Hey, 'Lex. George wanted me to see if you're interested in coming to hang out at his and Matty's tonight for George's birthday. He kind of just extended the invitation to Jamie and you, so I didn't want to ask in front of everyone."

"Oh, shit. Really? That's awfully nice of him. Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks. Tell him thanks."

"Course, mate. Oh, I wonder if he'd be okay with Carly coming, too?"

He quickly sends him a text and George sends back an excited message about Adam inviting anyone he wants because George wants to meet anyone Adam likes enough to hang out with.

Adam chuckles and sends back, "I don't want to overflow the house."

"I don't mind. Fill the place."

"I'm absolutely joking, luv. I don't even know that many people. And I'm not inviting my mum."

George sends back a laugh emoji, then sends, "not yet at least. Meeting the parents is serious and I'm not prepared to have that level of anxiety today."

"Yeah, that would be too weird. We'll see you tonight, sweetheart."

"K, see ya all later, cutie."

Adam smiles and slides his phone back into his pocket before looking up to meet Alex's eyes.

Alex is grinning like mad.

"What?"

Alex shakes his head and says, "you should see your face when you're texting him. It's nice. Seeing you this happy."

Adam chews his lip, smiling.

  
  
  


Adam messages Jamie, Alex, and Carly before he's about to leave his apartment, letting them know he's heading over there, having told them George and Matty's address before.

Carly responds that she'll be heading out in about an hour, happy to bring Daisy along.

He switches the hand his keys are in with Stevie's leash, and locks the door.

As he adjusts the bag around his shoulder, he smiles a bit shyly at what is inside, excited to show George, but also so nervous.

It's such a quick drive to George and Matty's flat that he thinks it would've been a nice walk, but he is too anxious tonight to take any longer to see George.

There is also the reasoning that he probably can't carry the bag, Stevie's leash, flowers, and the box with the drum throne that's wrapped in obnoxious-looking gift paper in the back seat of his car.

_ Next time _ .

He gets Stevie into the back seat next to the present, which she inspects, but mercifully leaves alone.

Setting his bag and flowers on the passenger seat, and getting in, he notices his hands are a little shaky starting the car and he sighs.

He has to calm down.

Turning slightly, he reaches back to scratch under Stevie's chin gently.

"Hey girl, daddy's nervous and overly excited."

She leans forward and licks his nose a few times, then goes for the mouth a bit, making Adam laugh and pull away.

"Aw, thanks, girl. But I want George to kiss me and he might not want to if my mouth smells like dog breath, no offense."

She just stares at him for a moment before smiling and letting her tongue hang out.

He smiles and turns around pulling out of the parking space and heading off.

As soon as he parks- unfortunately not finding a spot right in front this time, George texts him to say he's excited.

He sends a quick, "here" to him before grabbing his bag and the flowers, then getting out and opening the back passenger side, grabbing Stevie's leash.

"Adam!"

He looks up as Stevie jumps out of the car and sees George at the bottom of the steps.

He makes his way toward Adam and when he gets close, Adam starts to say, "hey, luv. Couldn't find an easier spot, but I just have to grab-" before George has his arms around him and is kissing him.

Adam's a bit stunned, and makes a little surprised noise, but kisses back.

Stevie starts jumping on them excitedly, making them break apart laughing, and George says hello to her quickly.

He wraps back around Adam, resting his forehead against Adam's and softly says, "it's scary how much I missed you in that short of a time. But I'm so happy you're here. Best birthday gift."

Adam chuckles and kisses him sweetly before saying, "I know, I missed you, too. And if me being here is already a good gift-"

"Best."

"-then the other stuff is icing on the cake."

"Other stuff? Adam, tell me you didn't get like, a whole bunch of stuff."

"Not exactly. I meant since everyone else got you gifts, too."

George rolls his eyes a bit and says, "like nobody was supposed to?"

Adam nods, smiling.

"Yeah. Like that. Now, wanna take her leash and your flowers, so I can grab your gift?"

George rolls his eyes, but smiles.

"I'll come back for my guitar in a bit. It's in the trunk."

"Or I could grab it."

They turn and see Alex walking toward them on the sidewalk with a tall gift bag that definitely just has a bottle of liquor in it.

"Hey, great timing, mate. You don't mind?"

"Not at all. Hey, thanks for inviting me, George. Happy birthday," Alex says going around to the trunk as Adam presses the button for it.

"Of course. Thank you," George says.

Adam grabs the box and Alex grabs the guitar case and they lock up his car before heading toward the stairs.

Matty and two other guys, one covered in tattoos, are standing on the landing smoking, all three setting their cigarettes on the ledge to safely say hi to Stevie as she excitedly greets everyone.

"Oh, hello, sweetie! Look at you!" One of them coos as she licks his face. Adam immediately is a bit surprised at his accent, and then the guy beside him speaks and he realizes they both are Americans.

"Let's get everything inside and then come back out to smoke, yeah?" George says over his shoulder, Adam and Alex nodding.

The shorter guy opens the door for them and they make their way in, Stevie excitedly running around to greet everyone as fast as she can.

Abby winds up with a lapful of Stevie, who squirms back against her to give kisses.

Adam quickly sets George's gift down beside the others on a table before going to Stevie, starting to tell her to get off of Abby.

"Oh, it's alright, luv, I'll push her off when I want her off. But for now, this is lovely. Oh, aren't you an angel?!"

"When she wants to be, sure," Adam jokes, taking Stevie's leash off her harness so she can freely play without wrapping anyone up.

"She's going to lose her mind when Daisy and Blue get here, huh?" George smiles at Adam, smelling his flowers before putting them in the vase.

"Daisy keeps her calm. And Blue doesn't care, she just wants to be cuddled up with anyone," he smiles back at George. "I'm going to put my bag in your room, but I'll be right out to the porch in a moment, okay?"

"Okay," George says with a goofy smile, kissing Adam before they part ways.

He opens and closes George's door quickly, pulling the wrapped box out of his bag and sliding it under George's pillows before setting his bag on the chair.

As he passes back through the living room, he sees Stevie stretched across John, Ross, and Abby on her back, happily lounging as they rub her belly or face.

"My dog is in heaven now," he laughs as he heads onto the porch.

George wraps an arm around his waist, handing him a cigarette and lighting it for him.

"Awww," the taller tattooed guy says.

"Boys, this is Adam, obviously. Adam, this is Jesse and Zach. They're some mates of ours from California. Also musicians."

"So good to meet you, we've heard so much about you," the taller guy, Jesse, says, extending a hand to Adam.

Adam smiles and shakes his hand.

"Good to meet you, mate."

Zach extends a hand and Adam takes it, shaking as Zach says, "George has talked about you non-stop the whole week."

Adam chuckles and says, "aww," looking at George, who is looking down, blushing a little.

There's a bit of a pause before Adam asks, "did you guys come out for George's birthday, or is this a happy coincidence?"

"Oh, well, a bit of both. We met up with them at the festival, but decided we had to come here and stay for a bit before heading back to the States. George is a special guy, couldn't miss his birthday if we didn't have to," Zach says, smiling at George.

"Aw… that's awful sweet of you lads. And I agree, he's quite a special guy," Adam says, bumping his hip against George's.

"Glad to see you realized that so quickly," Jesse says, smiling around his cigarette.

"Well, I'm not blind or stupid," Adam grins.

Jesse, Zach, and Matty laugh a bit, and George tightens his grip on Adam's side, dropping his head to Adam's shoulder.

Alex steps out onto the porch lighting a cigarette and introducing himself.

"So, I saw a guitar case, whose is that?" Zach asks.

"That's mine. Was thinking maybe a bit of a jam could happen tonight," Adam smiles, looking over at George. "I still haven't gotten to experience firsthand how good of a drummer George is. Just heard about it."

"Oh, I think we're all more than down for that," Jesse says with a smile.

"Absolutely, mate, I want to see what you've got," Matty says, to Adam.

Adam looks down and says, "well, I'm excited. Music is one area I'm actually fairly confident in myself."

He chuckles and George squeezes his hip.

"I'm excited," he says softly.

"Well, fuck it. Let's do it," Jesse says, pushing away from the ledge he was leaning against, stubbing his cigarette out in the ashtray.

They all head inside and Matty goes to the couch, telling Ross and John they're going to jam a bit.

They slowly make their way back to the studio room, George grabbing Adam's guitar from where Alex had set it, smiling at Adam.

Matty flips on the keyboard, adjusting the microphone, as Zach and Adam get their guitars set up, and Ross sets up his bass. George goes to sit behind his drum set as John opens a case, pulling a saxophone out.

Adam smiles around the room and looks over to the door where Alex and Abby stand watching.

Once everyone is all set up and ready, George says, "alright, lads, what are we playing? Or just literally jamming, making something up as we go?"

"Let's just do that," Jesse says. "Matty and I can just sing something along."

"Make up words as we go, or starting singing something over it?"

"Let's see what vibe we get from the music."

Matty nods and George shrugs, tapping out a count on the rim of the snare before going into a tight snare/high-hat/kick beat, throwing in little flourishes here and there and Adam is already impressed by his skill. The way he's drumming is very organic, but technical and unique from the start.

Ross starts tapping along and plays a thumping rhythm.

Matty messes with some sounds before playing gently along.

Adam and Zach look at each other for a moment before Adam strums a few chords, adjusting the tone, then begins dancing around on some higher, dulcet tones.

He looks back up at Zach who goes for a crunchier, lower sound, riffing well off of what Adam is playing.

Jesse grins at Adam and Zach, stepping to Zach to mumble something in his ear before they both laugh and he goes to the microphone and starts singing.

"Hey, girl, is he everything you wanted in a man?"

Zach laughs and changes chords as he looks back at Matty, mouthing something.

"Oh, of course you would!" Matty laughs.

Jesse laughs, but keeps going.

"You know I gave you the world, you had me in the palm of your hand… so why your love went away, I just can't seem to understand. Thought it was me and you, babe, me and you until the end, but I guess I was wrong…"

Matty starts harmonizing with him and they go back and forth on the lines for the rest of the song.

It takes Adam a moment before he realizes that it's Justin Timberlake, and he starts laughing.

He slips right into the riff, sliding and remembering the finger pattern.

Jesse kind of shouts and points at him, saying, "yes! Man knows Timberlake!"

Zach cracks up, transitioning into the lead chord progression as Adam grins at Jesse.

He looks up at George as he eases into a slower hip hop beat along to the song, smiling as he does.

John slowly starts playing sax along with Jesse and Matty's vocals, accenting them.

They go through the whole song and everyone stops as Adam finishes the outro guitar riff.

"Aw, yes! That was awesome!" Jesse laughs, wrapping an arm around Adam's shoulders and says, "I love that you just know that song on guitar, that's sick!"

"That part's so quick and complicated, too. Like, I've played it before, and that shows you're genuinely skilled, not just like, 'oh, I can play some early Blink 182', or something," Zach says.

Adam blushes a little before looking up at the door when he hears a commotion.

Jamie and Carly have joined Alex and Abby, and Jamie waves a little.

"We just got here a bit ago, Alex let us in. Of course you're already being fawned over for your talents," Jamie laughs, motioning to Adam as he looks at George. "He's good, right?"

"Oh, definitely, that was great, luv. I already guessed you were amazing," George says, grinning at Adam, who blushes a bit more.

"Jamie's pretty good, as well," Adam says.

"Not as good," Jamie reassures the room. "He is way more talented than he lets on."

Blue pokes her head into the room, sniffing around and Jesse immediately kneels down to pet her head, and she's followed by Daisy and Stevie.

Adam meets George's eyes as everyone gets a little derailed, greeting the dogs and going through introductions.

He smiles and starts playing a bit of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide".

George smiles wider, propping his elbow on his kit and resting his chin on the heel of his hand, watching Adam play.

"Oh, shit. That just occurred to me- is that why you called her Stevie?" Matty says, pointing at Stevie. 

"Ah, like Stevie Nicks?" John says, looking at Adam.

He laughs and nods, switching to the intro to "Go Your Own Way".

Jamie steps over to the mic Jesse abandoned and starts singing along, Blue making her way back out of the room, Daisy and Stevie following.

George adjusts himself on his seat and comes in, drumming along.

Matty stands up and joins Jaime, both singing together at the mic, and Ross starts playing along.

Jesse goes over to sit at the keys, harmonizing in the mic Matty was at, and Zach picks up the lead guitar part.

Everyone starts cheering and whistling as Adam hits the solo at the end of the song and he refuses to blush about it. He's in his element here.

Eventually, George plays a charged finale, Adam watching for his cue to shred off his final notes.

As soon as they stop, Adam looks up breathlessly at George, who is grinning at him, looking a little wild and slightly sweating, breathing heavily.

_ Jesus, he's even hotter when he's drumming. _

Adam swallows hard, managing to tear his eyes away from George's and is met with everyone talking about how fun that was and how Adam's a really good guitarist. He smiles and says thank you, but he can't stop thinking about how George looked.

  
  
  


They play loosely for a bit after that before going outside to the garden for a smoke.

Matty's still going on about the interesting technical stuff Adam was doing and how he got some really pretty tones, but Adam can barely process it. George's arm around his waist feels searing hot and heavy.

He's got his head leaned on Adam's shoulder as they lean against the little brick wall for the steps to the stone part.

Adam's fingers are gently and absently massaging the curve of his shoulder to his neck with the arm draped around George's back.

Matty and Zach start into an interesting discussion about a more technical side of a song they both like and Adam is largely ignored again, so he tips his head to mumble to George, "hey, G."

"Hmm?" George says, lifting his head and meeting his eyes.

"Have you ever seen what you look like drumming? Do you know how insanely, breathtakingly sexy that is?" Adam says quietly, grinning.

George chuckles, looking a little shy.

"God, I kind of wanted to come around and sit on your lap, like how I did after our date?"

George's eyes darken and he steps closer, getting in Adam's space and kisses him.

"Mmm, don't get me thinking about that right now. That was so fucking good, and it'll be a little obvious if I keep thinking about that," George says lowly, kissing Adam a little dirtier before pulling back.

Adam loves that he can have this effect on George.

They all head back inside after a bit of watching the dogs run around excitedly.

George grabs a beer, handing one to Adam with a smile and everyone plops down somewhere throughout the living room.

Adam and George wind up kind of smashed together on the end of the couch with Zach, Jesse, and Matty on the other side of George.

Stevie comes up to Adam and George, resting her head on George's knee, looking up at Adam.

"Aw, hello girl," George says, scratching her head and she looks at him.

"She wants up here," Adam smiles.

George moves his arms to make room for her to jump on his lap, laughing as she jumps on him, licking his face and flopping across his and Adam's laps, resting her head on the inside of Zach's elbow.

Matty says, "well, I was going to suggest G opens his gifts, but now I think he's pinned down for a bit."

"We can do it in a while," George says softly, scratching her chest as his other hand finds Adam's, lacing their fingers.

Jesse reaches across Zach and scratches her chin, and Daisy comes up to investigate, carrying a shoe and whining a bit.

"Daisy, whose shoe did you steal?" Carly laughs from the other couch where she's sat between Alex, Ross, and John.

"It's probably one of Matty's he left lying around," George says.

"It is, but it's fine. She's not chewing it up or anything," Matty says.

"No, just slobbering all over it," Carly says, getting Daisy to come over to her and making her drop the shoe.

After a few minutes, Stevie hops off of them and goes to sniff at Daisy, the two of them laying down and snuggling.

"Aw… they're so cute," Alex smiles, reaching down to pet them both as they lay at his and Carly's feet.

Abby and Jamie look over from where they're sat on the ottoman, petting Blue.

Matty stands up and says, "gifts, then."

George laughs and says, "someone's excited. How are you more excited than me?"

"Because, I want to see what Adam got you. And I want to give you my gift."

George laughs, dropping his head to Adam's shoulder.

Matty starts picking up gifts and bringing them over to George, Adam stands, going to help him.

With no shame, Matty shoves his gift at George first.

Adam chuckles at him and George rolls his eyes, laughing at Matty's childish behavior.

He pulls the wrapping off and opens the box, pulling out a rectangular jewelry box.

Matty smiles happily at him from where he's sat on the floor, and George opens it, lifting out a thin gold chain necklace with a smooth stone at the end.

George turns it over in his hands and reads the engraving, "G you're my favorite person, xoxo M."

He looks up at Matty with a big, goofy smile and Matty scoots closer to lean up and hug him.

"Thanks, mate. I love this."

When they pull away, he slips the chain over his head, touching the stone gently.

"It's one of the stones from when we went to Blackpool," Matty says with a sort of sad smile.

George's shoulders drop and he looks like he might cry, despite the tiny smile.

"Awww…." John says.

"That's so lovely, mate," Ross says softly.

George stands and pulls Matty up, wrapping him in a tight hug.

When they finally pull apart again, both of them have watery eyes and Matty clears his throat.

He looks over at Adam, then to Jamie, Carly, and Alex.

"So, since you lot don't know this story, it's basically-... I had a bit of a rough time and was going through some stuff. And George dropped everything and took me to Blackpool for 2 weeks. Just the two of us. We rode roller coasters and laid around on the beach and stuff. And he just… it was really lovely. It meant a lot."

Adam's chest feels tight and he smiles at the two of them.

"Anyway, there's more in the box," Matty says, waving his hands around a bit.

George smiles and turns to pull out a black and white leather jacket.

"Sick," he says, grinning as he shrugs it on.

Adam smiles at him, saying, "that's very cool."

George smiles wide and takes it back off, hugging Matty again.

"Thanks, mate."

He ruffles Matty's hair a bit as they pull apart.

George plops back into his seat and Matty hands him Adam's gift.

George smiles and Adam blushes. 

"All I had was birthday gift paper from my little nephew's present last month."

George grins adorably and says, "I love that."

He unwraps it and grins wildly.

"Aw, Adam… thank you, luv."

George leans over and kisses his cheek with a big smile.

"I remember you saying you needed a new one."

"I do. And this is quality. Thank you so much. And thank you for the flowers again," George smiles, motioning toward the yellow and orange flowers in the kitchen.

There's a chorus of 'awws', and Adam blushes a bit before George squeezes his hand.

"Good listener," Matty grins.

George smiles wider as Matty starts shoving more gifts at him, and Adam curls into his side a little as he watches George open gifts.


	20. Chapter 20

After some drinking games, cake, a bowl being passed around, and playing with the dogs in the garden, people begin heading home.

John and Ross say their goodnights, reminding George to water John's plants while they're gone, and Adam is a little surprised when John hugs him tightly, quickly kissing his cheek, and mumbling something about taking care of George.

Adam smiles at him as they part, nodding.

They make their way out to a chorus of well-wishes for a safe and fun honeymoon, before Jamie comments that since Adam has the following day off, he better get home so that he's up early to open Crisp, saying goodnight to everyone, and grabbing Blue's leash.

Carly mentions it being an early day for her tomorrow, as well, and Matty jumps at the opportunity to offer to walk her home, and Carly kind of blushes before accepting the offer.

Adam and George share a look before saying goodnight to Carly and Daisy.

Matty announces that he'll be back in a bit as he's closing the door behind him.

"Is that weird?" George asks, absently petting Stevie when she comes to sit by them, pouting about Daisy leaving.

"Not at all. I'm good," Adam says, smiling warmly at George.

He leans forward slowly and presses a kiss to George's lips a little more clumsily than he meant, but George just giggles and reconnects their lips carefully.

Adam leans his head on George's shoulder, noticing Alex and Abby sitting alone on the other couch, deep in a quiet conversation, sitting really close and cozy.

He taps George's wrist to get his attention before pointing at them.

George grins and quietly says, "matchmaking for my birthday, I guess."

Adam chuckles before looking up as Zach and Jesse make their way back into the room with more beers.

Zach stops, causing Jesse to bump into him, and says, "well, I guess we have to couple up, now, Jess, don't want to be the odd ones out," turning to wrap his arms around Jesse, who laughs, wrapping his arms around Zach.

Adam doesn't miss Alex and Abby blushing a bit as George chuckles.

Jesse suggests going out to the garden for a smoke, so they head out, letting Stevie go sniff around the fence, Alex and Abby still keeping kind of close.

Adam gives Alex a little knowing smile as their eyes meet, and Alex tries to bite back a smile.

  
  


After Matty returns, Alex offers to walk Abby home, and they say their goodnights before heading out.

As soon as the door shuts, Matty and George both turn to Adam with a grin.

"That's fuckin mint, yeah? Abby is so picky, and she tends to intimidate most guys who show interest, scaring them off. And Alex is decent."

"Yeah, that's kind of perfect. He's been a bit out of the game. His girlfriend of almost two years cheated on him, bout four or five months back. He had like, a small series of just sloppy rebounds, but never really… I mean, no judgement. Made him feel a little better, so…." Adam trails off with a shrug, suddenly realizing he just openly aired Alex's dirty laundry. "Ooh, maybe I shouldn't have said all that."

George chuckles and says, "don't worry, we won't say anything."

Adam smiles and George wraps him up, pressing a kiss to his temple.

Adam notices Jesse motion at Matty, and Matty nods sharply.

"Well," Matty starts, getting George and Adam's attention. "I think, we're going to give you two some nice alone time. Be back in a few hours."

Jesse and Zach nod, grabbing some stuff up before heading for the door, Matty following, winking at them.

Before either of them can even respond, the door is shut.

George bursts out laughing after a moment, and Adam grins at him.

He shakes his head and goes to get Stevie's teddy out of his bag before coming back to the couch, throwing the teddy to her.

"They don't even attempt to be subtle."

"Well, why bother? We would all know what was meant anyway, right?" Adam smiles.

George turns back to him, shrugging and nodding.

"Guess so."

Adam leans down from where he's perched on the arm of the couch, cupping George's jaw and looking into his eyes for a moment before kissing him deeply.

"I think Matty may have guessed that I have another surprise gift for you," Adam mumbles against George's lips.

"Oh, do you?"

Adam nods, kissing him again before standing and finishing off his drink, then making his way down the hall to George's room.

He realizes George isn't following him and stops in the doorway, turning back to look down the hall at him.

"You gonna come get your surprise? Or just sit out there?"

George scrambles up and quickly follows Adam into his room, kicking the door shut and locking it, just to be safe.

He gets his hands on Adam and kisses him a bit roughly.

"Whoa, slow down a bit, luv," Adam finally pulls back to say.

He leads George over to the bed, sitting with him, and starts to reach under the pillow, but turns back to George.

"Wait, there's nothing out there Stevie can get into right? Like, no cake or booze left out?"

George shakes his head.

"Okay," Adam smiles and pulls out the wrapped box.

"Oh, shit. You meant another physical gift, then?"

"Yes and no. Your train of thought wasn't completely off," Adam grins, nervously picking at the edge of the gift before pushing it into George's hands. "Besides, what you were thinking is a pretty physical gift."

He looks at Adam suspiciously before unwrapping it.

Adam doesn't take his eyes off of George, so he watches his jaw drop a little when he sees what is inside.

"What the fuck?" he whispers before looking up to meet Adam's eyes. "Adam, I-...."

"I, um, I tabbed some pages of things I am interested in. Um. And there's more under the book."

George carefully notes the tabs sticking out of the top of the book, fingers running over them before he lifts the book and sets it aside, gently gasping at what's under it.

"Oh my god. Adam…."

Adam chews his lip and waits as George lifts the straps out of the box and turns them in his hands.

"Are these…?"

He looks up at Adam, who chews his lip a bit more before saying, "they're bed restraints. There's two for arms, two for legs. You just hook them under the bed frame," he gently takes one from George and reaches down under the mattress to connect it, laying the strap along the bed, turning it so George can see the cuff for the ankle." I, um, I noticed that neither of us have, like, a headboard or footboard that allow for tying up, so…"

He finally meets George's eyes, and he's still staring at him with his mouth agape, but there's a small smile forming, and his mouth finally snaps shut audibly as he sets the box aside, standing.

George catches Adam off guard as he suddenly grabs the front of Adam's shirt at the collar, roughly pulling him in for a bruising kiss.

He turns them and shoves Adam back onto the bed, crawling over him and kissing him intensely.

Adam's head is spinning when George finally breaks the kiss and breathlessly says, "holy fuckin hell, Adam, do you have any idea how fucking hot that is?"

Adam grins and says, "well, if it's even remotely close to how hot you are…"

"You hush. That is- Oh my god, Adam…" George leans back in, kissing and nipping along Adam's neck up to the jawbone.

Adam's hands run up George's sides, pulling his shirt up along the way, and they get the garment off, Adam taking the opportunity to flip things, roughly rolling them over and pinning George to the bed.

He can do this. He did so much researching and everything, he can totally be dominating and rough with George.

They'd had conversations about what George likes and doesn't like, and Adam doesn't feel uncomfortable with any of it. And he really wants to make George so happy.

George gasps sharply as Adam's hands tighten around his wrists, holding him down as he messily kisses along George's neck, biting under his ear before kissing back down and biting at the slant of George's neck.

"Fucking hell…" George gasps out.

"Do we just want to do what we talked about before for tonight? Maybe look through that book later?"

George nods.

"What do you want, luv?" Adam whispers in his ear, dancing a hand down his stomach to his jeans.

"Tie me down. Fuck me. Put your hands on my throat. I-"

George suddenly stops and tenses up, using his free hand to grab Adam's shoulder.

"What is it?"

"Wait. Should we…. Are you sure you want to do this for our first time? We could do this another time, luv. I know it's-"

"I want to. And it's your fuckin birthday. And nobody has done this for you in so long. You deserve it and I want to do it," Adam says, looking down into George's eyes with the most reassuring expression he can muster.

George swallows, nodding, and runs his hand up Adam's arm to cup his jaw, pulling him down to kiss him slowly and sweetly.

When he pulls back, he softly says, "thank you so much, sweetheart," against Adam's lips before reconnecting them.

He slides his hands up the back of Adam's shirt, pushing it up, and Adam breaks away long enough to help remove it before deepening the kiss, slipping a hand down between George's jeans and his underwear.

George breaks the kiss to let out a soft moan, and Adam kisses up his neck to his ear, softly saying, "can I ride you? I… I want to fuck you, but I really, really want to, um, to sink down onto your cock…"

He can't help flushing at his own words, but the reaction he gets from George is so good, it boosts his confidence exponentially.

George moans and swears, hands gripping Adam's upper arms tightly.

"Fuck, baby. Yes. Absolutely. I want to see your face as you fill yourself up on me."

Adam bites his lip and pulls his hand back out, moving to undo George's jeans and tug them off of him.

"Let's get you all tied down, luv," Adam says as George sits up. 

He leans in and presses a searing kiss to George's lips and moves so George can slip his underwear off and get situated on the bed, attaching the top two straps while Adam attaches the other and cuffs George's legs.

"Is that okay?" Adam asks, gently running a hand up George's calf to his thigh, stopping halfway up.

George moves his leg a bit before nodding, saying, "perfect."

Adam smiles, tickling the inside of George's thigh with his fingertips gently, making George twitch.

He moves to cuff George's wrists, and George moves his arms before nodding up at Adam.

Adam crawls back onto the bed, straddling George's hips and leans down to kiss him passionately.

He pulls back and smiles down at George, saying, "hey, I'm really excited about this. So if I seem at all shy, I promise it's not me second guessing anything, okay?"

George nods and Adam kisses him again, quickly deepening it and grinding his hips down, creating an intense friction against George's hard cock with the fabric of his jeans.

"Fuck," George gasps as he breaks the kiss to tip his head back.

He slowly slides down George's body, kissing along his chest and stomach messily.

George twitches as Adam's lips and tongue tickle his stomach and hips before moaning at Adam's fingers wrapping around his length, palm massaging the head a bit.

He spits into his hand and wraps it back around the head, stroking down to the base before teasingly flicking his tongue across the tip, then moving to kiss and suck around the base.

George's gasps and soft whines fill his ears and he smiles, teasing a little longer, ghosting his breath across the tip, but just leaning back down to nip at the sensitive skin on the inside of George's thigh instead.

"Please…. Adam…."

Adam stops and grins.

"Please what?"

"Please stop teasing…."

"What would you rather me do?"

George groans and says, "please, Adam, suck my cock, baby…"

"Okay, luv," Adam says, shivering at George's voice.

He licks slowly up the underside of George's cock to the tip, eyes fixed on George as his head tips back and he gasps, wrists straining against the restraints.

His eyes lock on the muscles in George's left arm as he pulls against the cuff when Adam's lips enclose the tip, sucking gently.

"Fuck…" George gasps out as Adam's lips slide down George's length, slowly taking him in and sucking as he goes.

His eyes water a little as the tip of George's cock slides back into his throat, but he repositions so he can have easier access, though he loses his view of George to do so.

The sounds George lets out make up for it, though.

He pulls back, swirling his tongue around the head messily before sinking back down, and he lets his fingers slip down to cup and massage George's balls as he moves his head up and down slowly, sucking at the head.

His own cock is straining painfully in his jeans, but he ignores it, focusing on the delicious weight of George's cock on his tongue.

Eventually, he carefully reaches down to unbutton and unzip his jeans as he sucks noisily at George's tip, and slides his pants and underwear down enough to free himself.

He brings one hand back up to prop himself up on his elbow between George's legs, wrapping his hand back around the base of George's cock, the other hand wrapping around his own length and he moans around George, getting a sharp gasp from the other man.

Adam pumps himself dryly a few times before pulling off of George messily and noisily, getting a whimper from him.

George looks at him and his expression changes from dismay to awe.

"Jesus… look at you, luv. Just…. Wow."

Adam smiles, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth before climbing gingerly out of bed, pulling his pants and underwear completely off, and going to root around in his bag.

He glances at himself in the mirror to see what George meant, and yeah, he looks so debauched already.

When he comes back, he smiles a bit shyly at George, setting the items from his bag on the bed beside George's leg.

He suddenly considers something, turning to go grab a towel from across the room.

"Can you lift your hips, baby?" He murmurs to George.

George lifts his hips the tiniest bit that the restraints allow, but it's enough for Adam to slip the towel under him.

"So practical and thoughtful," George grins.

Adam shrugs before climbing back onto the bed.

He kisses gently up the inside of George's thigh as he picks up the little tube, squirting a good amount into his palm and rubbing it together, warming it up and slathering his fingers.

The angle isn't easy, but he can do this, though, holding himself up like this with just core strength is going to make him sore tomorrow.

He can't bring himself to care.

Reattaching his lips to George's waiting cock, he works into a good pace before reaching down under himself, stroking his slick fingertips across the sensitive skin, catching his middle fingertip against his hole and pressing in.

He shivers a little and gently whines around George, pushing deeper and twisting his fingers.

With his other hand, he reaches down to start toying with the head of his cock, slipping his finger in and out of himself messily as he sucks loudly on George, who is softly mumbling about how good Adam is to him.

Adam slides his index finger into himself, joining the middle finger and he begins pumping himself slowly but roughly.

He's shocked at how he can even keep up with the three different things he is doing right now, moaning loudly around George.

George seems to suddenly realize what Adam is doing and starts trying to say something, but breaks off in a low moan as Adam buries him completely inside his mouth and throat.

Once he catches his breath, George says, "red, baby. Red light."

Adam slowly pulls off, a trail of spit between his lower lip and the tip of George's cock eventually breaking as he sits up.

"Jesus fucking christ, Adam. Look at you, goddamn."

Adam grins lazily, slowly slipping his fingers back out of himself as he sits up.

George doesn't miss the movement and he closes his eyes, swallowing.

"I know you're being practical, but I absolutely want to watch that," George smiles at him. 

Adam blushes but moves to kneel between George's ankles, angling himself so George can see him stroking his cock, but also gets a good view of him sliding his fingers back into himself.

He looks at George who chews his lip, arms twitching.

"You want to watch this? Knowing you can't touch?" Adam says breathlessly, twisting his fingers roughly.

George whines as Adam adds another finger, sharply twisting his wrist, pumping his cock faster.

"Mmm, no…." George whimpers, squirming. "I want you to use me instead."

Adam takes a minute to figure out what he means, but a light flicks on in his mind, and he realizes what George wants.

He stops, and slowly crawls up George's body until he's knelt over George's shoulders.

"You mean like this, baby?"

George nods quickly.

"How are we going to do traffic lights if you have a full mouth?" Adam says, stroking his jaw.

George does three little hand motions, saying which is red, yellow, and green.

Adam nods, smiling and moves slightly, holding his cock and slipping it into George's lips, rubbing the tip along George's bottom lip before meeting his eyes and getting a tiny nod from George, who tips his head forward gently to suck the head.

Adam gasps and pushes into his mouth more.

George holds up yellow, so Adam pulls his hips back, letting George suck on him.

Adam once again slides his fingers back into himself, moaning at both sensations being so good.

George gags a little, but his hands stay loose and limp, so Adam doesn't let up, pulling back and sliding back in across George's tongue.

He doesn't know how long he can trust his ability to gently fuck into George's mouth before he jerks, pushing his cock all the way into George's throat rough and fast, so he is slightly nervous, but George wouldn't have insisted he do this if he didn't trust Adam.

When he looks down, George's eyes are watering so much, he looks like he's sobbing, but as soon as he sees Adam looking down at him, he suddenly pushes forward as Adam is thrusting in, making Adam's cock slip deeper into George's throat.

"Oh, fuck…" he moans before slipping out of George's mouth, letting his fingers slip out and he wipes them on the towel.

George coughs a little, and Adam leans to wipe his cheeks, tipping the nearby bottle of water to his lips.

"Thank you," George says, voice hoarse.

Adam kisses his temple and says, "thank YOU, luv. You're really incredible. And, um, I am more than ready to ride you, G."

He grins and George swallows hard.

"Fuck. I am very ready for that, too."

Adam smiles and picks up the condom from where it's laying near George's thigh, but stops, thinking about it for a minute.

"What is it?" George says softly.

"Well, um. Do-... Do we need…?"

"You- You want to ride me bare?" George asks.

Adam bites back a smile, but shyly nods.

George drops his head back, laughing a little.

"How are you going to look shy while asking to ride my bare cock? Right after fingering yourself while fucking my mouth as I'm tied to the bed?"

Adam can't help laughing at that, too.

They collect themselves, and George finally says, "if you want to, luv. Fuck knows I'd prefer it. And I'm good. I take it you are as well, if you're askin."

Adam nods, saying, "checked out before our date, so…"

George meets his eyes and smiles softly.

Adam crawls up him a bit to kiss him before moving to straddle him and grab the tube.

He massages the lube into his palms to warm it up, stroking up and down George's length before gently pressing the head into himself, gasping.

Slowly, he slides himself down onto George's cock, back arching and his head tipped back, mouth dropped open in a silent moan as all of his breath leaves his lungs.

_ Fuck, he feels even bigger. _

Adam's head spins as he sinks completely down, settling on George, whose thighs are squirming under him.

He gasps and looks down at George, seeing his head tipped back as he moans softly, arms straining hard against the restraints.

George finally meets his eyes, and Adam lifts himself about halfway off, readjusting his legs, before slowly sliding back down.

"Fucking hell, luv…" George pants out.

Adam can feel him trying to thrust up, but the restraints on his legs don't allow him to get enough footing on the bed to really do much.

He's trying so hard, letting out a whine.

Adam's head clears for a second, and he reaches up to harshly pinch one of George's nipples.

"Hey!" He says sternly, getting George's attention, before gently saying, "behave, luv."

George bites his lip hard, dropping his head back again, stilling his hips attempts at upward motion.

Adam grins and begins to work up a nice rhythm, moaning softly as he grinds down on George's cock.

He listens as George's breathy moans and whimpers get louder and more desperate, and he's worked himself up to a really good pace, feeling so good, though he finds himself wishing he could feel George's strong hands gripping his hips.

But he's really enjoying this, and listening to George, feeling him trembling beneath him makes him desperate to get George off, spilling inside of him before he releases all over George's stomach.

His own cock is ignored for now, but is leaking steadily at this point.

Adam's right hand slides up George's chest to his throat, gently pressing down.

George gasps and pulls against the restraints for a moment before Adam lets up.

"Oh, fuck, I'm not going to last much longer, luv," George shakily says.

Adam grins and leans forward, repeatedly grinding down hard and steady as he periodically squeezes George's throat.

His gasps and moans are filling Adam's ears, and he knows it's going to be any moment, feeling George's body shaking almost violently.

He roughly shoves George's jaw back and up with his hand before really squeezing hard, growling, "you gonna fill me up, G? Be good, luv. So good. Come on."

George's whole body seizes and he moans loud, Adam releasing his throat as he feels warmth filling him, sliding out of him as he rides George through his orgasm.

_ Fuck, he is gorgeous. _

Adam slows to a stop, settling, and wraps his hand around himself stroking hard and fast for a few moments before he stripes cum up George's stomach and chest, letting out a long moan.

He stays still, panting for a moment, then opens his eyes to look down and meet George's glossy ones, noticing how dark and blown out they are.

He's looking up at Adam in awe, and it's almost enough to have Adam blushing.

Adam leans down to kiss him clumsily, almost crying out at the pressure and change of angle of George still inside of him.

George's lips are trembling as he kisses back slowly, almost like he's drunk.

Adam pulls back, smiling at George's hazy, lopsided smile.

"How are you, luv? Okay?"

"I am… over the fuckin moon," George says with a pleased little giggle.

"What percent?"

"Mmm…. 0 being normal, 100 being gone, 'm at… like, 50… right now. Hazy."

"I'm going to get off of you, okay, luv?"

George nods, eyes slipping shut as Adam gently slides off of George, who lets out a soft gasp.

Adam isn't ready for how much cum seems to gush out of him.

"Fucking hell," he mumbles, heart kind of racing at the feeling.

_ God, could I seriously get turned on all over again just at that? _

He gently climbs over George to sit on the towel, rubbing it over the backs of his thighs and ass.

"Wanna see," George mumbles.

Adam blushes, but stands on wobbly legs, feeling it run down to the backs of his thighs again.

George hums in approval before Adam picks up the water bottle, tipping it to his lips.

"Mm, thank you, baby," George says softly.

Adam gets another towel and pours a little of the water on it, warming it with his hands before he gently starts cleaning George, who giggles as it tickles, but hums dreamily as Adam takes care of him.

He does his best to clean himself again, now that it seems to have stopped oozing out of him a bit.

Setting the towel aside, he goes to gently uncuff George's ankles, then his wrists.

As soon as he has his wrists undone, George's arms wrap tightly around Adam, pulling him close, and curling into his chest.

Adam wraps George up, running his hands gently over his arms and back, leaving feather-light kisses across George's temples.

"Are you warm enough?"

"I… mmm. 'm a little cold," George mumbles.

Adam struggles to reach the comforter without disrupting George as he's snuggled tightly into his chest, but he manages, pulling it up over them both.

He keeps George close, petting his hair and kissing him gently as he seems to doze.

Adam knows he isn't asleep, as he continues to hum happily every time Adam places a kiss on his head.

What seems like maybe 20 minutes pass, and George finally stirs a little, tipping his head up to meet Adam's eyes.

"How are you, luv?"

"Perfect. Floating nicely around 15 or so, I think. Not quite as fuzzy, but definitely still very high," George giggles, leaning forward to kiss Adam slowly.

Adam cups his jaw and kisses him back, feeling George's fingers trace the lines of his clavicle up to his neck.

They finally part, keeping their foreheads pressed together, and Adam softly says, "I've never had anyone cum inside of me before, ya know."

George pulls back, looking at him in surprise.

"Then- then why did you let me?"

"I wanted to."

George's mouth snaps shut, a small smile forming.

"Oh…"

Adam leans forward to kiss him quickly before saying, "I kind of… I like it. It feels so…. Claiming. Is that cheesy?"

"It is, but it's true. Feels kind of carnal and like… I don't know. But I feel a bit like… you're fucking MINE. Ya know?"

Adam smiles, nodding.

"That's exactly how it feels. And it's weirdly hot, to still have it leaking out of me… I'm sure when I want to get dressed, that will feel annoying, but right now? Mmm. I like it."

George grins and says, "you're fuckin amazing, d'you know that?"

Adam smiles softly, and says, "you're one to talk."

They stay snuggled up for another half an hour before George mumbles that he needs to use the toilet.

Adam slowly stands, helping George stand shakily, and they make their way to the bathroom, taking turns peeing before Adam suggests a quick bath.

Once they've got a nice warm bath run, Adam helps George, who is still a bit unsteady on his feet, get in and he joins, slotting their bodies together, an arm hooked around George's shoulders, pulling him close against him.

"So glad we have a large tub," George chuckles.

Adam smiles and kisses the top of his head.

They soak in the nice warm bath for a bit before Adam grabs the soap and a body sponge, lathering it and gently running along George's shoulders and arms and chest.

He sets it aside, figuring eventually, they'll stand up and he can finish. For now, he grabs the shampoo and starts gently massaging it into George's hair, cupping some water to wet it.

Adam's hands freeze when he hears George sniffling and shakily exhaling.

"G?"

George has his face angled down and away from him, so he rinses his hand in the water before gently hooking his fingers under George's chin to make him turn his head and meet his eyes.

Adam is a bit surprised to see George is tearing up.

"What is it, luv?"

"Nothing. I- it's stupid," he says, shaking his head and wiping at his eyes.

He lets out a little chuckle before waving it off.

Adam chews his lip, not moving.

George looks back at him and sighs.

"I'm sorry. I'm being really ridiculous. It's just-...." George chews his lip before whispering, "nobody has ever done all this for me before."

Adam's chest feels tiny as his heart swells, and he leans in to press a firm kiss to George's temple.

"Well, let me know if it's too much. I just… I wanted to make sure I took good care of you."

George nods, turning and kissing Adam with a hand cupping his jaw.

"I love it. It means so much to me, Adam. I- Thank you so much."

Adam smiles softly and says, "of course, luv. I'm just really glad you trust me so much, and that I can do this for you."

  
  
  


George lets Adam finish washing him and he returns the favor, taking extra care of Adam's thighs and bum, making Adam blush a little, but he does his best to talk himself down from feeling so self conscious.

Adam presses kisses to the red marks across George's wrists and George's soft smile when he meets his eyes again is the best thing he's ever seen.

Once they're clean and dressed, they unhook the restraints from George's bed and decide keeping them at Adam's might be best, since he lives alone, so he puts them in his bag.

He turns back to the bed to see George sitting cross-legged, looking through the book, and he can't help the little blush creeping up his neck.

When he saw it in the window of the shop as he passed, he stopped and stared at it for a bit before ultimately going in and nervously looking at it.

He wanted to go with George the first time he went into one of these shops, but this seemed like just the surprise he needed for George's birthday.

His blush after buying it and the restraints lasted for literal hours, even though the girl who rang him up seemed completely unfazed by his purchase. Which is understandable, considering his purchase was probably pretty mild in comparison to some of the other items in the shop, though he didn't really explore much.

George making a little noise brings him back to the present, and he meets Adam's eyes.

"So the stuff you tabbed is what you're interested in?"

Adam nods shyly, wondering what George is looking at.

George grins and says, "are you seriously going to be shy NOW? Come on, come join me."

Adam shifts before slowly walking over to sit on the bed beside George.

He glances down to see George is on the page showing the image of a man behind a woman who is bent over, wrists tied behind her, and he's holding the ties.

Adam chews his lip and he can tell George is grinning wildly.

"So. Do you want this done to you, or do you want to do this to me? Or both?"

Adam shrugs slowly.

"Either, I guess."

George sets the book aside, pulling Adam into his side.

"You know it's way too late to be shy with me, right?"

Adam huffs and says, "yeah. I just… it's a lot easier for you to tell me what you want than to explore the thoughts of what I want, I guess. I don't know."

George chuckles softly and says, "well, um, I'm definitely down for this, luv. Um, I have to ask- where did you get this? And the restraints?"

Adam buries his face into George's shoulder and says, "I passed by a shop on my way from one of our distributors back to my car. The book was in the window and caught my eye. Then I saw the restraints and I… I had already kind of… done some research. Online. So…."

George giggles a bit and says, "so you went to an intimate toy shop?"

"I pretty much just went in, bought those and left. I didn't even look at anything else. Too awkward."

George squeezes him tight and says, "well, we should absolutely explore one together some time, though. I will get you through it, luv."

Adam nods against George's shoulder slowly.

George picks the book back up and flips through it to specifically the things Adam has tabbed.

He stops on each one and talks to Adam about it, and Adam slowly gets more comfortable about it.

  
  
  


After a bit, they go into the living room, George bringing them both a beer as they sit on the couch, and Stevie excitedly jumps on them. George works on getting the drum throne put together, and smiles happily at Adam when he sits on the cushion.

The front door swings open and Matty peeks in, seeing them and smiling before coming in with Jesse and Zach behind him.

"Have fun?"

George chuckles and nods, moving to sit back beside Adam on the couch, Stevie jumping down to run over to greet them as they come inside and close the door.

Jesse and Zach come sit in the living room as Matty gets the three of them drinks before joining. 

As he sits beside George, he grabs his hand, lifting it and raises an eyebrow at the red marks on his wrist before poking at his neck.

George smiles shyly, leaning away from him and snuggling into Adam's side.

Adam smiles, wrapping his arm tight around him and kissing the top of his head.

He meets Matty's eyes, and Matty jerks his head to the hallway before excusing himself, saying he needs to grab something from his room.

Jesse starts telling George about something he and Matty talked about while they were at the festival, and Adam says he'll be right back, kissing George's cheek before heading down the hall. 

Matty motions him into his room and shuts the door behind him.

Adam waits patiently as Matty seems to be gathering his thoughts a bit.

"Okay," he finally says. "So, I just want to start off with, I am so fucking happy George met someone who is awesome and sweet, but also will do this for him, because, I'm sure he's told you this, but it has been a long time for him."

Adam nods.

"I'm kind of surprised, because I know you both had talked about taking your time, but I also know George has shit willpower when he really wants something. Usually, he gets noticeably mopey when he gives in, but I don't see that, and honestly? I don't think he's too broken up about not waiting longer, given the circumstances."

"Yeah, I am usually the same way. He and I actually talked about that, too. It should be freaking me out that, not only did I not take my sweet time, I kind of dove in head first…"

Matty chuckles and says, "yeah, considering you've never done that, I'd say you really went all in immediately. Jumping straight into BDSM sex is impressive for someone who typically takes their time.

Adam laughs a little, saying, "yeah, it should have me shitting myself when I think about it, but I just… I feel comfortable with him in a way I never have with almost anyone else I've ever met."

Matty smiles wide, softly saying, "that's basically word for word what he said this morning, mate."

Adam bites back a smile, feeling warmth radiate through his chest.

Matty looks down for a minute before meeting Adam's eyes again.

"I am really hoping I am right in assuming you've done some research and talked with him, and know how to take care of him."

Adam nods again, smiling.

"I did, yes. I, um, I took the restraints off, cleaned him, we cuddled under the blankets for a long time. He got loads of kisses. Then I got us a nice warm bath going and washed him and his hair really gently."

Matty smiles and says, "okay, that is so fuckin sweet, mate. Thank you, for taking such good care of him. Um… I-..."

"Matty, what is it?"

Matty looks at him and chews his lip for a while, finally saying, "do you know about…. That sometimes, he does stuff for me? It's not sexual, just…."

Adam is a little surprised, having assumed that George would've told Matty what George told and showed him.

Matty sees Adam's surprise and quickly says, "I won't ask him to anymore, I don't want to make you uncomfortable or feel like you need to be jealous or anything. I mean, we haven't since you two met or anything-"

Adam gently grabs Matty's wrists and says, "hey, no. It's not that. I'm- I'm aware, yes. I just was surprised that George didn't tell you that he explained everything to me. He, um, he actually kind of… He showed me what he does. To make sure I understood and wasn't uncomfortable with you two doing that. And it's fine, honestly, Matty. If you need that, and if he can help you, I don't mind at all. I trust him. And I trust you. If I haven't had a problem with you two being as close as you are yet, I can't imagine starting now," he finishes with a chuckle.

Matty nods quickly before suddenly crashing into Adam, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you so much, Adam. Seriously."

"Well, it's better for you to have that from someone you trust and who already knows what you need, yeah? If I were uncomfortable, you'd have to find someone else to do that for you, and… that feels kind of, I don't know, mean on my part. I wouldn't feel right taking that away."

Matty squeezes him tighter and Adam rubs his back.

After a minute, Matty says, "Jesus, George really did find a winner, didn't he? You're fucking amazing, d'you know that? Like, the amount of people who would be okay with that is probably so small, and he found one."

He pulls away to meet Adam's eyes and Adam can tell he was trying not to tear up.

They smile at each other and Adam starts to say something when the door opening interrupts them.

They turn to see George peeking in, looking confused, and Adam immediately lets go of Matty's shoulders, thinking about what it might look like.

"Hey, G. Sorry, I just… wanted to make sure Adam is… aware of stuff," Matty says, swiping at his eyes and backing up.

George's face softens and he steps into the room, closing the door.

"He is, yes. He did a lovely job with aftercare. Took excellent care of me, honestly, more than I could've hoped for," George says, smiling softly at Adam.

"It sounds like he did a really lovely job. But, that isn't what I'm talking bout."

George cocks his head and looks between them.

"George, I assumed you had told Matty that you showed me what you do for him when he needs it," Adam says gently.

George's face shifts to something unreadable.

"Yeah, that is surprising," Matty says.

"I-" George stammers a little before looking down and sighing. "I'm sorry, Matty. I know, I should have asked if you were okay with him knowing."

"Oh, it's alright, G. Though, yes, you should have. But, no, that's not why I'm like this. I- Adam's a really great person. He, like, made a whole point of telling me that I can still have you do that if I need it and he won't be upset. Which is just, really fucking understanding and lovely of him."

George smiles and meets Adam's eyes, Adam smiling back at him.

"Yeah, he's… I'm really lucky."

Adam smiles shyly before George's arms go around his waist, pulling him close.


	21. Chapter 21

The next day, Adam is woken up to the sound of George quietly giggling and squirming beside him.

He rolls slightly to see Stevie laying across him, licking his face and ears.

George turns his face and as soon as she stops, he looks back at her, booping her nose with his finger.

Adam melts at the sight.

Stevie notices Adam is awake, and throws herself toward him, licking his face excitedly.

He laughs and she slips between them, rolling onto her back, looking back and forth between them happily.

"Good morning," George says softly, smiling sleepily at Adam.

Adam carefully leans over Stevie to kiss George for a moment before Stevie wants back in on it.

After some snuggling with her, Adam says that she probably wants to go outside.

"Want to take her to the park?" George asks.

Adam smiles and says, "that's a good idea. I have her ball in my bag, so she could run around for a bit."

They get up and get dressed, taking turns using the bathroom, and Adam gets her ball out as George gets her harness and leash on.

Adam smiles as they go into the park hand in hand, and he excitedly asks Stevie if she remembers this park.

She just looks at him with a happy expression, tongue hanging out of her mouth.

He lets her off her leash and George hurls the ball across the park, watching her take off with a big grin on his face.

"Y'know, if you love dogs so much, why don't you and Matty have one?"

George shrugs and says, "well, we take trips out of town a lot and, I don't know, I'd just feel bad, I guess."

Adam nods, slipping his hand into George's.

They spend a little over an hour at the park playing with Stevie, and Adam's face hurts from smiling so much.

Once they get back, Jesse and Zach are awake and making coffee.

Zach slides two mugs across the counter to them when they come in, sitting on the stools. 

Stevie dances around them in the kitchen until Adam tells her to go lay down.

She slowly walks into the living room, picking up her teddy and jumping into the couch, curling up with him still in her mouth.

"Awww," Jesse says, watching her. "She's so well-behaved."

"Most of the time, yeah," Adam smiles. "Matty still asleep?"

Jesse nods and George says, "I told you, he will never be awake before noon unless he absolutely has to."

"I tried waking him up. He called me the devil and threw something at me," Zach laughs. "I didn't see what, I just dodged it and shut the door."

George nods and says, "sounds right. I'll make him apologize to you later."

Zach shrugs and says, "I took a cigarette from his pack as revenge."

George giggles and says, "not much revenge, he'll never even notice."

"I know, though."

George offers to make breakfast and Zach and Jesse go into the living room to wait, while Adam sits at the counter keeping him company as he cooks.

Watching George cook, listening to Jesse and Zach playing with Stevie, Adam feels really content and like he's in the right place. He belongs right where he is.

George turns around to slide the eggs onto four plates and glances up at Adam, raising an eyebrow.

"Alright, luv?"

Adam snaps out of his thoughts and meets George's eyes, smiling.

He nods, and George smiles back, leaning over to kiss him gently.

Adam can't help but think George knows exactly where his brain wandered off to.

They spend the morning playing video games with Jesse and Zach, Matty eventually joining them.

Adam can't believe he slept through the yelling as long as he did anyway.

They all take Stevie back over to the park to play with her for a while before Jesse and Zach have to say goodbye and get to the airport.

They both give Adam a bear hug, each of them mumbling in his ear about taking good care of George.

He promises them both that he will.

After they leave, Adam and George curl up together on the couch, Matty curling up on the other end with Stevie jumping up between Matty and Adam.

"Hey, G, we should have Adam and Jamie do the event next month," Matty says.

Adam looks at Matty, then at George.

"Yeah, I worry it might be too late to book you guys, but we're doing a show not too far away from here. The guys who were meant to bartend…. Well. We need to find someone else. We found out some sketchy stuff about them."

"Oh. What day?"

"22nd. Friday night. Doors at 9pm."

Adam gets his phone out and checks his calendar.

"Let me check with Jamie. We tentatively have an event booked that day, but it ends around 5pm. What would you need?" Adam opens his notes.

"Just three bar stations. One for VIP on a balcony, the other two are main on the floor."

"It lasts until 3am," Matty says.

"How many people attending?"

"200."

"And for VIP?"

"40."

"Alright, lads. Let me send the info to Jamie. I'll see what we can do. Think of specifically what alcohol you'd want and how much of each."

George and Matty start making a list of the alcohol while Adam messages Jamie.

They work out the details, and Jamie tells Adam he gets to ask everyone if they would be able to work that night.

He figures he won't have a hard time enticing Alex, since Abby will be there, according to George and Matty.

After they work out the details, Adam reluctantly gets Stevie ready to go and says goodbye to Matty.

George walks Adam to his car, carrying his guitar, and puts it in the trunk as Adam sets his bag down on the front passenger seat.

He squats down to say goodbye to Stevie before Adam opens the back door, getting her inside before turning back to George.

George smiles softly, putting his hands on Adam's hips, leaning in to kiss him sweetly.

When they part, Adam leans his head against George's, still not wanting to leave, but knowing he needs to get some work done before tomorrow.

"Hey, do you have a free night this week?" George asks.

"Thursday night I am free. It's a busy week otherwise, unfortunately."

"Okay. Thursday, I will pick you up around 7 for a date, then."

Adam smiles and says, "sounds lovely. I can't wait."

"What time do you have to work on Friday?"

"I have to leave at 1pm."

"Awesome. Also, um, if Carly ever needs a break, you know Matty and I can watch Stevie."

Adam grins and says, "you just want to hang out with my dog."

"I do, but it will also give me an extra excuse to see you for a bit when you're busy," George grins.

Adam smiles wide and leans in to kiss George before saying, "I'll see you Thursday, luv. And I'm sure I'll text you loads until then, too."

"Yeah, you better…. I'll see you, Adam," George says, kissing him one more time before stepping away to let Adam walk around to the driver's side, waving a little before getting in.

The week is a blur, and Adam stays busy, barely getting much time to talk to George before Thursday afternoon.

When he gets home, he takes Stevie outside for a bit before getting a shower in and making himself some coffee, knowing he will need it.

He's really excited, and in such a good mood, but he is still pretty exhausted.

As he's finishing his coffee, he glances at the clock and sees it's 6pm. He rinses his cup before setting it in the sink and quickly rooting through his closet, pulling out a black loose top with white spots all over it, black fitted jeans and quickly changing.

Right after he brings Stevie back inside, there's a knock on the door.

He opens it to George smiling at him, holding 3 big yellow flowers wrapped in a damp brown paper towel.

He's wearing nice jeans and a white t shirt with a denim jacket and boots, and the whole outfit just looks so good on him.

Adam smiles as George hands the flowers to him, saying, "hello, luv. Brought you these. Nicked them from the park this afternoon."

Adam laughs, letting George in so he can be lovingly attacked by Stevie.

"You picked them yourself, you mean?"

"That's the nicer way of putting it, yeah. I even looked up how to properly cut the stems and all, though."

Adam bites back a huge smile as he finds a tall glass to put them in, filling it with water.

"They're lovely, thank you. Smell nice, don't they?" Adam says, sniffing them again.

"Yeah, they do," George says, stepping up behind him and wrapping his arms around Adam's waist, dropping a gentle kiss to his neck.

"What are they?"

"No clue. For all I know they're actually not meant to be kept this way," George giggles. "I just thought you'd like them."

Adam smiles and turns in his arms, kissing him.

"Love them."

George smiles wide and goofily before kissing Adam again.

"So, where are you taking me, luv?"

"Mmm, it's a surprise. But, in contrast to the lovely date you took us on, it's much less fancy and a bit of a risky move, as far as dates go."

"Oh?"

"I went a bit more…. Unconventional?"

"Unique? Creative? Original?"

"Sure. Let's call it that. I'm just hoping you don't hate it, and we have fun."

Adam smiles, leveling George with a look as he tries to duck his head.

He finally meets Adam's eyes again and sighs.

"I kind of struck out, okay? I seriously looked into so many things, and really thought about it, but now, when we get there, you're going to assume that I just picked a random thing. But I thought this through really hard. And now I'm thinking about it and it just seems like…. A last minute decision. And kind of lame."

Adam bites his lip to not giggle at George.

"Aw, luv. I really appreciate the amount of thought and stress that went into your decision. I do. It's rather sweet and endearing that you're worrying yourself about it so much, but…. Honestly, G? I'm going to have a good time just being with you."

"Well, you say that, but…"

"Why don't we just get there first, and you can let me decide?"

"Because you won't tell me if you hate it."

"So your solution is to just stand in my kitchen all night second-guessing your date choices?"

George sighs.

"No…. We should go."

"So enthusiastic to take me on a date, wow."

"I'm excited! I really want to take you on a date! I'm just nervous about my date decision, now. And I feel like you're not going to like it."

Adam rolls his eyes and smiles, kissing George.

"Why not tell me what it is then?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Then let's go," Adam says decisively, kissing George's cheek and tossing one of Stevie's lick mats on the floor for her, hiding a treat ball in the corner and opening the door, saying, "we'll be back Stevie, be a good girl," before walking out the door and heading down the stairs.

He grins when he hears the door shut and George's rushed footsteps on the stairs.

"Did I need to lock your door or turn off lights?"

"Door locks on its own. I leave some lights on for Stevie when I leave, so it's fine."

They get to the front door, and before Adam can open it, George grabs his wrist, turning him, and pins him against the wall, crowding against him.

"Thank you, luv."

"For what?"

"For making me stop panicking."

"Well, considering who I am as a person, I can spot an anxiety-fueled overreaction pretty easily," Adam laughs.

George leans in and kisses him deeply, and Adam gets blindsided, doing his best to keep up with the sudden really passionate and really hot kiss as George keeps him pinned against the wall beside the door.

George finally pulls away, smiling and saying, "alright, let's get going, yeah?" 

He moves to hold the door open for Adam, who is still collecting himself, and when Adam finally moves away from the wall, clearing his throat, he meets George's eyes, seeing a pretty devious smirk.

"Getting me all worked up in the corridor of my building? Trying to convince me to just take you back upstairs so we don't go anywhere?"

"I did no so such thing. How dare you slander me," George smiles.

"You tit, you know what you were doing. I know you do. And you're not winning this one, I want to see this date you've planned out for me, even if it's shit. I'm excited."

George grins, gently putting a hand on Adam's lower back and leading him out the door and they walk hand in hand to George's car.

After Adam gets in and George shuts his door, coming around to get in and start the car, he stops and sits chewing his lip for a moment.

"George, seriously? Come on, I want you to take me on whatever date you've got planned for me. I-"

George runs his hand through his hair saying, "Ross and Matty teased me about it when I told them. We were facetiming with John and Ross, and John asked if I'd decided on a date plan and I was so excited and told them and Ross said it was like a silly and unimpressive year 10 date and Matty was like, 'you made fun of MY date ideas?' so it has kind of fucked me up since then because… I want you to have a good time, but also be impressed, I suppose. And you chose such a nice date and mine is kind of… immature. So I panicked about it all day. That's why I was even at the park, I had to get away from Matty because he just kept trying to cheer me up with other date ideas, but I- I actually put a lot of thought into this, for fucks sake."

Adam leans over and awkwardly wraps his arms around George, kissing his cheek.

"Well, Ross and Matty can stuff it, I'm excited for your silly, immature date. I'd bet them 100 quid each that I'm going to have fun and they're going to be jealous."

George smiles softly at Adam, and kisses him before readjusting and pulling out of the spot. 

They drive for a bit, Adam futzing with the radio as George anxiously taps on the steering wheel.

Adam shakes his head to himself when he notices how nervous George is.

He's literally the last person who is qualified to ease someone's anxiety, as he is a pretty anxious person, but he thinks that when they get wherever George is taking them, he'll do what he can then. He's done everything he can think of so far.

Adam lands on a station playing "Everywhere" by Fleetwood Mac and he smiles, gently resting his hand on George's thigh as he drives. He doesn't look over, but he sees George smile at him out of the corner of his eye.

He starts mumbling softly along to the song, George joining and by the time they get to the second chorus, they're both singing along at full volume.

Adam might be okay at calming at least one other person's anxieties.

They slow to a stop in the parking lot and Adam peers out the windshield at the bright flashing lights. As George turns the car off, he can hear the goofy calliope music.

He can see George drop his head down to his steering wheel out of the corner of his eye.

Adam looks over at George, who just looks defeated and embarrassed, and he knows he shouldn't, but Adam can't help the laughter bubbling up out of him.

He tries to at least cover his mouth as he laughs, but it hardly helps.

George looks at him miserably, crossing his arms and scowling out the window.

Adam finally gets himself under control as George sighs and starts the car, switching to reverse.

"No! George, don't!" He gasps out.

"Let's just leave, we can just go to this cool little underground pub my mate works at and forget I did this at all-"

Adam grabs both of George's hands, leaning over to kiss him.

"Turn the car back off," Adam says, smiling against his lips.

George sighs and does.

"George, I'm not laughing because I hate this or think it's dumb, okay? I'm laughing because I get it. It's fun and innocent and whimsical. It's not a boring adult thing. And, honestly, don't we all need fun and whimsical sometimes? But I am also dying at the idea of you excitedly telling John and Ross and Matty about this, thinking they're going to think it's such a good idea, too. And then they just hear 'fun fair' and absolutely take the piss out of you for it," Adam can't help the laughter that bubbles out of him again, because he really can see Ross's face in his mind.

"Yeah, they did not have the same thoughts on this being cute as I did."

"But you know what's good about that, though?"

George looks at him carefully, arms crossed over his chest again.

"It doesn't matter that they didn't get it. Because I do. I love this, George. You were so worried I was going to hate it because it's not a proper adult date, but like, this is fuckin perfect. It's cute, it's unexpected, and it's probably more fun than a stuffy, romantic boat date. And this is probably actually going to wind up being more expensive than that was."

George has the tiniest smile on his face when Adam looks back at him.

He sits back and smiles at George, who finally says, "for the record, I did love that stuffy, romantic boat date, though."

Adam grins.

"But I think the two extremes are nice right?" George motions at the fun fair entrance.

"Absolutely," Adam says, still grinning at George. "Also, I'm a massive Springsteen fan, and it kind of just gives me Asbury Park vibes. Plus, there's your whole outfit, which is a very blue collar Springsteen look."

George chuckles and Adam grins goofily at him.

"Your shirt is snowing," George says, motioning to his shirt with a smile.

Adam looks down at it and smiles.

He gets out of the car, saying, "come on, you have to win me an awesome, giant teddy or puppy. Which will inevitably become Stevie's toy."

As he's rounding the car to head toward the front gate, George grabs his hand, pulling him back so they're leaned against the front of the car, and he rests his forehead against Adam's, arms tight around his lower back as he holds him close.

He starts to say something, but opts for just leaning in and kissing Adam lovingly.

When they part, George mumbles, "thank you, Adam. You're so fucking sweet and awesome, you know that?"

Adam grins and says, "you're fuckin adorable, luv. Let's go have fun."

George takes Adam's hand, and they walk into the entrance, Adam smiling at George as he pays.

They spend a while just walking around, looking at everything before George points at some of the carnival games.

"I love these. I'm so good at the ball-in-a-bottle thing. And skeeball," he says, very confidently.

Adam grins and says, "oh yeah? You wanna see who gets a better score on skeeball?"

George grins and says, "you're on, luv."

They go to two machines side by side, and start their games.

Adam immediately sinks a 100 point pocket, looking over at George with a grin as George misses and gets 10 points.

"Cheeky," George says, aiming carefully and getting 40 points.

After a round, Adam winds up with about 300 more points and turns to grin at George, who rolls his eyes, ripping his tickets off, and says, "alright, alright. I'm off it tonight, that's all. But I'll smoke you at the bottles."

Adam motions over to the stall, and George steps over setting up as Adam smiles at his competitive attitude, stepping beside him. He watches as George misses the first one, swearing softly before making the next three in a row.

"Impressive," Adam says, setting up his side. He manages to make one.

"Ha! See?" George giggles.

"I never claimed to be any good at this, though."

"Fair enough," George grins and pulls him close for a quick kiss.

Adam is about to say something before a voice behind them interrupts.

"You poofs gonna be blockin the games all evening, or might you be letting others have a go?"

They turn and Adam is immediately met with the epitome of 'chav' and the trashiest bird hanging on his arm, two similar pairs behind them.

George laughs and says, "aw, look, luv! Have you ever seen so many absolute muppets? Didn't know the fair had an attraction just for chavs, did you?"

Adam chuckles, but the group obviously doesn't find it funny.

George motions at the guy and says, "what are you, King Chav?"

"Listen, fa-"

"No, it's okay, I know you most likely didn't make it past year 8, so I'm not expecting much, mate. So is this a free one, or do I throw a p at you to get a show? Coin toss for the tosser? Are you trained? Is there a refund if I'm underwhelmed? I assume I should be prepared for mediocrity," George leans to the girl beside him, saying, "you know what I mean, yeah?"

The chav stomps and starts at George, saying, "Right! That's it, you-"

"Settle down, muppet. Don't spit your dummy, now!" George laughs.

He suddenly gets serious and steps closer, towering over the chav a bit, eyes darkening.

"Wouldn't want you looking like a bigger dickhead in front of your mates and your bird, yeah?" He says lowly, a dangerous threat to his tone.

He stares the chav down before laughing again.

"I'm just havin a laugh. I mean, what knob starts a fight at a fun fair?"

George looks over at Adam and winks.

"Alright, you lot have wasted quite enough of my boyfriend's time. Bugger off, little chav," George says, shooing them with his hand.

They all look at each other for a moment before George just sighs.

"Clean the spaff out of your ears! Go on!"

They slowly shuffle off, mumbling, and George turns to Adam.

"Sorry, luv. Where were we?"

Adam lets a small smile slowly form before laughing and leaning into George, nudging his shoulder.

George takes his hand and leans in to kiss him.

"Sorry about all that," he mumbles.

"Sorry for what? Standing up for us?"

"Well, using that language. It's a bit unbecoming of me, now, innit?"

Adam chuckles and shakes his head.

"Whatever. Thank you, luv. For standing up for us."

"Course. I'm not about to be bullied with my adorable, amazing boyfriend while we're trying to enjoy fun fair. And especially not by those chavs. Ugh, no. That's pitiful."

Adam smiles and sinks into George's side a bit more as his arm goes around Adam's shoulders.

George places a kiss on the top of his head, and says, "alright. Skeeball, bottles, verbally trouncing chavs…. What should we do next, you think?"

Adam smiles and says, "I'm feeling a bit peckish."

George smiles at him and says, "how do you feel about Welsh cakes? I could go for some. Ooh, and let's see if they have any samosas around?"

Adam nods, saying, "sounds perfect," and they move to start toward some food stalls, lacing their fingers together.

About an hour later finds them queuing for the ferris wheel, George explaining how it is the most romantic part of a fun fair, so they have to go on it for this to be a proper date.

They reach the front of the line, getting in the basket, and George takes Adam's hand, helping him in. Though he almost protests that he doesn't really need help, he lets George do it though. It feels nice to be pampered.

As the wheel spins around, George wraps an arm around Adam, who snuggles into his side, smiling wide as George presses a kiss to his temple.

"This is a really good date, luv. I'm really happy you chose this. Ross and Matty are going to eat their words," Adam says softly, lacing his fingers with George's.

He looks up to see George smiling goofily at him, and feels overwhelmed with how happy he is.

Grinning, he takes his phone out of his pocket and opens the camera, angling it at himself and George, snapping a picture.

They look at the picture and Adam smiles, saying, " I'll send it to you so you can send Ross and Matty a nice ' you were wrong' text."

George chuckles and Adam sends it to him, pocketing his phone.

When they arrive back at Adam's apartment around 1 am, a little tipsy and breathlessly giggling, Adam doesn't even protest when Stevie takes the stuffed puppy wearing sunglasses and a Hawaiian shirt out of his hands.

George giggles gleefully and says, "Stevie, I won that for your daddy, silly girl!"

She drops it on the floor, running back to them to jump all over them both, and George collapses to the floor, letting her squirm all over him, kissing his face.

They'd gone to George's mate's pub after leaving the fair, having a few drinks before George's mate, Chris, brought them some shots.

They wound up leaving George's car there, calling a cab back to Adam's.

Adam smiles down at George laying on the floor giggling as Stevie licks him.

"Babe, she needs to go out soon, it's been a while."

"Right, outside time, Stevie!" George sort of shouts before struggling to get back up.

Adam offers a hand, pulling him back to his feet.

They get downstairs with her and she sniffs around before doing her business, George wrapped around Adam from behind as they silently wait for her to finish.

Once they get back upstairs, Adam gets them both water before watching George struggle out of his jacket, dropping it on the back of the couch and leaning on the arm to get his shoes off.

Adam smiles, slipping his shoes off and giggling when George almost falls over.

George finally gets his shoes off and looks up at Adam, who is just standing, smiling at him.

"What?"

Adam ducks his head, biting back a huge smile, and shakes his head.

"Nothing," he takes a few steps, stopping right in front of George and finally meets his eyes again. "I had a lot of fun. This was a really cute and sweet and thoughtful date, and I'm really glad you took me out to a fun fair tonight, instead of listening to Matty's suggestions."

He slides his arms around George's waist and George drapes his arms over Adam's shoulders, hooking his wrists behind Adam's head.

They stand looking at each other for a moment, George grinning at Adam's words, before George pulls him flush against himself, leaning in to kiss Adam slowly.

He slides one hand across the back of Adam's neck to his shoulder, the other cupped around the back of Adam's head as he deepens the kiss without changing his pace or leaning toward sexual intent.

Adam's head spins a little as George keeps him so close, kissing him intensely.

After what seems like an hour, but was maybe a full minute, George slowly pulls away, leaving quick little pecks on his lips before letting his forehead rest against Adam's temple.

"I'm chuffed. I was so nervous you might hate it, so seeing you genuinely enjoy my silly idea was good. I had fun, too. And I'm just…. I'm really happy I met you," George says softly, kissing Adam's cheek gently.

Adam feels a warmth blooming in his chest and he tips his head, nuzzling George a little.

"Let's go to bed so I can snuggle you properly," George murmurs.

They go to Adam's room, and Adam flops on his bed, propping himself up on his elbow to watch George pull his shirt off and tossing it to the chair, followed quickly by his jeans.

He smiles at George when he looks over, raising an eyebrow.

"Just going to watch me undress, huh? Bit pervy," George smirks, coming over to take Adam's hands, pulling him so he's sitting up.

"I was just admiring the view, luv," Adam says, smiling up at him. "You have a rather nice body. Goes well with your face. Really matches your personality nicely. The whole ensemble is quite well put together."

George laughs at Adam's oddly-worded compliment before leaning down to kiss his forehead, reaching down to pull Adam's shirt up.

"Thank you, luv. You know, you're quite lovely to look at, as well. And how fitting for such a lovely person."

Adam smiles and presses a soft kiss to George's belly.

"You're so sweet."

George smiles and backs up to let Adam stand and pull his jeans down and off.

They get curled up together in Adam's bed, George pulling the blankets over them before sliding his arm under Adam's neck, pulling him closer as Adam's arm drapes over George's waist.

Adam is already on his way to falling asleep, feeling resentful of that fact, as he wanted to spend more time just consciously enjoying George and his warm presence.

He feels George kiss his head and hears a gentle, "g'night, luv."

He mumbles what vaguely sounds like 'good night' before drifting off.

The next morning, he awoke to George's feather light kisses, smiling as he opened his eyes.

They lay there, smiling dopey and happy at each other for a while, George stroking his fingers along Adam's jaw before leaning closer to kiss him sweetly.

Adam doesn't let him go far when he starts to pull back, kissing him more passionately than his freshly-woken mind should even allow.

After a few moments of lazy kissing, George shifts to lean over Adam, kissing him more intensely, pressing him down into the pillows, and Adam suddenly feels George press against his hip, half hard and warm.

He grins, breaking the kiss to mumble, "oh, is it THAT kind of morning, then?"

George shyly ducks his head and says, " it doesn't have to be, I wasn't planning on that…"

"Mmm, well, I think it can be that kind of morning," Adam grins lazily. "I am definitely not complaining."

George smiles and kisses Adam deeper and with more heat, running a hand down to his underwear, stroking him through the material to be pleasantly surprised with him also being a little hard.

Adam moans softly as George rolls onto him, grinding then together before kissing along his neck down to his collarbone messily.

George sits back on his heels and hooks his fingers into the waistband, tugging them down around Adam's thighs slowly. He leans forward again, kissing Adam's neck just behind his jaw before nipping at his ear, grinding against him again.

"Want to fuck you, nice and slow and sweet, luv," George's voice comes out low and coarse, and Adam bites his lip hard.

George kisses down Adam's chest to his stomach before nipping playfully at the inside of each thigh, teasingly kissing around Adam's cock without ever touching it.

Adam whines softly and George cedes, gently lapping his tongue against the tip before sucking him gently into his lips.

He takes his time, sucking him down to the base before slipping one dry fingertip gently into Adam, who gasps before his hands slide into George's hair, gently gripping and releasing as George slips his fingers up to wrap around Adam's cock, sliding up as he pulls off audibly.

Adam finally thinks long enough to reach into the bedside drawer, pulling out a tube and handing it to George, who wastes no time squeezing lube into his fingers and slathering them.

He goes back to his steady suction on Adam's tip, slowly sliding one dextrous, long finger into Adam.

Adam's moans grow louder as George goes, finally slipping his fingers back out before reaching for the tube again, ready to slick himself up.

Adam grabs his wrist though, gathering himself before sitting up to tug George's underwear down enough to have access, wrapping his hand around George's cock and leaning forward at an awkward angle to slip him between his lips, looking up at George, who softly moans.

He tries to get a good rhythm going, but the angle is difficult, and eventually George pushes him back, laying him back down with a searing kiss before grabbing the lube.

He slicks himself quickly before hooking Adam's legs over his hips and lining himself up, slowly pushing into him, both of them letting out long moans until George bottoms out, dropping his head down to Adam's collarbone.

"I'm never going to get over how good being inside of you feels, I think," George finally mumbles before lifting his head again, slowly pulling back before pushing back in.

He grabs both of Adam's hands, lacing their fingers together as he pins them to the bed, working up to a delicious and steady pace.

Adam's head tips back and George's mouth attaches to his throat as he takes his time, slowly taking Adam apart.

They're both trembling after a few minutes, and when Adam tips his head back down, George finds his mouth, messily kissing him and moaning into his mouth.

It feels like George fucks him for an hour before Adam finally comes between them with a gasp, a hot mess slicking up both of their lower bellies before George snaps his hips a few times quickly, moaning loud into Adam's neck as he does.

He lays there panting for a while before finally, very gently slipping out of him, wincing as his cum runs out of Adam all over the bedsheets.

"Shit, that's messy," he mumbles before flopping beside Adam, tangling his fingers with Adam's loosely.

Suddenly, Stevie pokes her head over the edge of the bed, about to jump up, but Adam and George simultaneously shout, "no!"

She pauses before sitting down, and George laughs before petting her head and telling her to go lay down.

She does, and George smiles at Adam, leaning over to kiss him before saying, "I'll get us a towel, luv."

Adam nods blissfully, and George slowly stands, heading into the bathroom.

He absently hears the sink running before George returns, leaning over him to clean him up.

They eventually pull the sheets off of the bed, Adam throwing them into the basket, then rooting through the cupboard to pull out clean ones.

"The good news is that it didn't soak through to the mattress, somehow," George grins as he runs a hand over it.

Stevie whines and Adam sighs as he drops the fresh sheets on the bed.

"Alright, girl. I'll get your breakfast, then do this."

George catches his hand and pulls him back against him for a quick kiss, making Adam's heart skip a beat.

George presses his forehead to Adam's, running his hands up and down Adam's arms, getting a big, dopey smile out of him.

"I'll get this all set while you take care of her, luv," George mumbles.

"Okay," Adam says softly. "Thank you."

George smiles, kissing him again before letting him go, but as he turns, George gently slaps his bare arse playfully.

Adam yelps in surprise, turning to look at George, who is biting down a grin.

He can't help blushing a little as he goes to grab a clean pair of pants, sliding them on.

"Awww," George groans, but when Adam looks back at him, he's smirking.

"Cheeky," he mutters before walking out of the bedroom, Stevie right at his heels.

Adam can't stop smiling the whole time he's getting Stevie her breakfast, and when he comes back into the room, George is laying on the bed, scrolling through his phone, still nude.

Adam chuckles as he leans on the doorframe, crossing his arms.

George looks at him and smiles.

They spend the morning lounging around together and playing with Stevie before Adam drops George at the bar to get his car from last night, leaving Stevie with him as he heads to work.


	22. Chapter 22

Things had been really great between Adam and George, and Adam was sure he'd never been so happy just because of another person before.

It had been a little over a month since they'd gone on their first date now, and they'd gone on several since, sometimes just staying in, having some drinks and dinner while watching movies with Stevie curled up at their feet.

Adam had played music a bit more with George and Matty, really loving their musical chemistry, and Jamie had often been invited to join, he and Matty becoming fast friends.

Alex and Abby had gone on two dates, now, and from what Adam gathered, they went well.

George and Adam had gone on one midday coffee date that led to George convincing Adam to venture into an intimate shop with him.

They hadn't wound up buying anything, but Adam eventually grew more comfortable.

Adam had gotten more comfortable and confident in the bedroom, as well, and they experimented with things Adam had marked in the book a bit.

He took a weekend off to go with George and Matty to a festival they were performing at, and, while Matty had been out for a while, Adam had George tether his wrists, hooking then to the collar, just like the night he was showing Adam what he did with Matty, letting George bend him over the footboard of the sleigh bed in their room of the suite. George spent a while warming him up, leaving marks across his arse with the crop before opening him up agonizingly slowly, then fucking him just as slowly and deliciously, occasionally gently pulling on the strap he'd attached to the collar. After George came, he pushed his fingers into Adam, through his own cum, easily finding his prostate, and massaging it until Adam came with a shout, untouched. Adam learned then to let go and let himself fall, knowing George would take such good care of him, and he was very right. He decided he actually did like being dropped and letting George absolutely coddle him.

A week later, Adam tied George's ankles to the bottoms of his bed legs, bending him over the foot of the bed, tying his wrists together behind him, and slipping the bit into his mouth, hooking the reins on and fucking him so good that George came twice before they were done. He was more out of it than before, so Adam took extra care with him.

After both experiences, Adam felt closer to and more bonded with George than he'd ever imagined being with anyone.

  
  


When the day of George and Matty's show that Crisp was bartending came, he was really anxious and excited, having decided he really wanted to tell George that he was in love with him.

He'd been feeling that way for a while, in fact, when the words popped into his head, he realized that he'd been falling in love with him since they met, and it both terrified him and warmed him at the same time.

It was two days ago, when George had been kind of having a bad day. The guys who were originally bartending the gig called Matty and George fake friends because they believed the accusations about them (that they were spiking girls' drinks for their friends). While Matty told them to fuck off, George felt bad, having been friends with them since Uni. Adam told him that he had to trust his gut, and you don't want to take that kind of a risk. It hadn't really made George feel better, even though he admitted Adam was right.

Adam decided to surprise George, bringing him into the music room, and picking up Matty's acoustic guitar, and played and sang "Aquaman" gently for him.

George didn't stop smiling the rest of the day after that, and when George was hugging him after he set the guitar back down, Adam almost said it out loud: _I love you_. He didn't, but the way it popped into his thoughts effortlessly stunned him.

Now, he smiles at the thought as he drives to the club.

As soon as he pulls into the parking lot of the club the show is at, he spots George and Matty out by the back door smoking with a handful of other people, Abby being one of them.

He parks and gets out, waving when Matty looks up.

Matty taps George's forearm, motioning toward Adam, and when George looks up, seeing him and smiling, Adam's chest feels completely full.

George hands Matty the bowl he was packing and makes his way over to Adam.

He wraps his arms around Adam's waist, pulling him in close, saying, "hello, luv. Thank you so much again for doing this."

"Absolutely, luv," Adam smiles, arms going around his shoulders.

"You look fantastic," George smiles, eyeing him.

George and Matty had requested that the Crisp team wear black club attire, so Adam had worn a loose black top and ripped black jeans.

"Thanks, handsome," Adam smiles, eyeing him back.

George leans in to kiss Adam, and there's some whistling from the group by the door, causing them both to break apart laughing.

George turns back to them, slipping his hand into Adam's, and says, "oh, piss off."

Adam gets introduced to the four others, Dana, Max, Barry, and Lena.

He gently declines when Lena offers him the bowl they're passing around, saying, "I'm not great at working high, honestly."

George leans in to kiss his cheek.

After a few minutes, Alex joins them, greeting Abby with a kiss on the cheek, and Adam, George, and Matty share a grin with each other.

They eventually head inside, Matty excitedly showing Adam and Alex everything they might need.

"So who all do you have tonight?" Matty asks.

"Well, we're going to do shifts, since almost everyone worked the other event today, aside from Lainey and Paul. So they will be here in a bit, the four of us will be working. 2 hours in, around 11pm, Jamie, Sarah, and Rich will get here. At around midnight, Alex and I will be off. Along with whoever wins a coin toss between Lainey and Paul."

"Nice," George grins.

Paul and Lainey show up with the van, and Adam, Alex, and Paul begin unloading everything to the bar stations and Lainey works on setting them up, Matty offering to help her.

George is doing sound check and talking to the lighting designer, and every time Adam passes him to bring alcohol and drinks to the V.I.P. bar, George winks at him.

After the third time, the lighting designer sighs dramatically and says, "G! Stop eyefucking your beau for a moment so we can sort this!"

George cracks up and Adam grins as the guy turns to him, extending a hand and saying, "I'm Ricky, unfortunately the only lighting designer in this city that these two clowns trust with their 'vibe'. You must be Adam?"

"Hey! Matty is the one who said the 'vibe' bit, don't drag me down," George laughs.

Adam smiles, shaking Ricky's hand, and saying, "I am. It's lovely to meet you, mate."

"Oh, I love a gentleman," Ricky says with a grin.

"Easy, Ricky," George says.

Ricky rolls his eyes and says, "oh, I'm just having fun, luv. I'm approving of your choice."

He winks at Adam, dropping his hand and turns to George.

"Can we finish these lights?"

George smirks at him and they go back to the booth, George looking back at Adam with a smile.

  
  


About 30 minutes before the doors open, they are set up and ready to go, Adam standing by the booth talking to George and Matty.

Matty suddenly stops mid-story, face going pale as he sees something over Adam's shoulder.

George notices, and Adam sees an expression he's never seen on George's face.

It's dread and hatred, mixed with something dark.

Adam turns to see a ridiculously over-styled conventionally attractive brunette man who is covered in tattoos, walking toward them with a huge smile.

Adam hears Matty hiss, "no", and looks back at him.

He looks terrified.

"Matty?" Adam says, then looks over to George, who has gone fully stoney and cold. "G-George? What… Who is that?"

Adam feels someone behind him and turns to be face to face with the man.

"Hi, there. I'm Trenton Saint Alexander. You can just call me Trent, of course. I hear you're co-owner of the company George and Matthew got to bartend the show tonight?"

Adam hears George scoff at the man's name.

He's unsure of what exactly to do right now, so he introduces himself, about to shake the man's hand when George interrupts.

"What are you doing here?" His voice is icy and harsh.

"Oh, I guess you don't know, then? I'm a partial owner of the club, now. Bought a large share and was brought on to help. See, the club has been having issues with drug dealers coming into the club and selling inside. With my specific knowledge, and being able to recognize many of the dealers, I can help keep them out. Well, just the dangerous stuff. We look the other way with things like weed."

George snorts and says, "so you went from being a drug dealer to ratting out drug dealers?"

Trent steps close to George, muscling Adam aside, and runs his fingers along George's jaw, gently saying, "well, when I lost something important to me," he pauses and George jerks away from his touch, eyes wild as he stares at Trent. "...I knew things had to change."

George doesn't respond, and Adam sees his icy façade cracking, showing doubt and fear.

Adam looks to Matty, who hasn't said a word, or looked up from the floor yet.

He finally steps between Trent and George, putting on a phony smile and saying, "well, why don't we get you a drink? Alex makes amazing cocktails."

Trent finally tears his eyes away from George's and smiles wide at Adam, saying, "sounds lovely, chap."

He turns to start heading toward the bar, Adam carefully following, but looking back to George and Matty, who haven't moved, but George swallows hard and his hateful, disgusted expression returns.

Adam quickly leaves Trent with Alex, following where he had seen George storm off to, dragging Matty by his wrist.

He follows a hallway to a door that leads to a small balcony, seeing George wrapped around Matty, cradling him as they smoke. He hears George mumbling to Matty, but can't make out what he says.

Scuffing his shoe along the wood, he makes his presence known.

They both look up with a start, relaxing when they see it's Adam.

_They must have a really bad history with that guy to be this jumpy._

"Um, I don't want to make things worse, but I feel like I need some sort of an explanation of what just happened…"

George sighs and Matty turns to walk over to the rail, leaning over it and smoking shakily.

Adam steps closer to George, who chews his lip.

Finally, he says, "Trent is my ex. He was the only person who ever was my dom…. Before you. And he is why I have been hesitant to let that happen again. He…. He is the single most toxic person I have ever even heard of."

Adam feels all of the air leave his lungs.

"Saying that he is manipulative is an incredible understatement. He's controlling, mentally abusive, great at gaslighting people, and is most definitely a sociopath…. He had this- this fucking spell over me, and I-...." George shakily takes a drag, glancing at Matty's hunched shoulders. "He also was a drug dealer, and he sunk his fucking talons into Matty. He wanted me clean, but Matty was just a business opportunity to him. Got him so fucking deep, he couldn't function. Made him sure that Matty felt like he couldn't physically live without the shit. It took a lot, but we finally broke free of him, and I worked hard to get Matty clean again. That's what Matty was talking about, when we went to Blackpool…"

George touches the stone on his chest where it hangs at the end of the necklace chain.

Adam breathes shakily and says, "I am so sorry you have to see him, George…"

George shakes his head, biting his lip as his brows crease.

"I knew it was probably going to happen one day, but we've been so lucky to have avoided him for years."

Adam's arms tentatively slip around George's waist, and George tosses his cigarette, wrapping tight around Adam, clinging to him.

Adam holds him firmly, hoping he is conveying a feeling of safety to George.

They stay like that for a while before George finally eases his grip, looking at Adam with a serious expression.

"Thank you, I-I have to be strong for Matty, but I…."

"You need comfort, too."

George nods.

He looks over at Matty, and moves to him, wrapping his arms around him from behind and pulling him close mumbling into Matty's hair.

The smaller man turns and clings to George.

Adam shifts before Matty motions for him to join them.

He comes over, both of them wrapping an arm around him and dragging him into their hug.

They're quiet for a bit, then George says, "we have to have an awesome night, despite him. He doesn't get to come ruin our night. Fuck that. We're both so much better than that."

Matty nods firmly. 

They finally untangle, and George produces three cigarettes.

They Adam and Matty take one, lighting them, and after a beat, George says, "I'm not looking forward to John and Ross getting here in a while and seeing him. I just hope Ross doesn't try to fight him."

Matty chuckles and says, "I would pay Ross to beat his ass."

Adam smiles, thinking that Ross would most likely do it for free.

"I don't know… I don't want Ross having to get himself into that mess," George says.

"This sucks. I like performing here. But guess it's going off the list for us."

"Yeah, that sucks."

After a few minutes, Barry pokes his head out, telling them that the doors are about to open.

"Alright, let's go do this," George says, stubbing out a cigarette.

Adam squeezes his hand, reaching out to also squeeze Matty's.

They smile to each other before heading inside.

  
  


The first two hours of the show, nobody sees Trent again, and George and Matty announce a local dj, who opens with a 20-minute set before they do a 45-minute set. They announce two more djs, who perform for the next half hour before they go for another 45 minutes. George, then announces another independent dj, and he does a small battle or a riffing thing with her for a while before leaving her to do her own 20-minute set.

Around when Jamie takes over for Adam's shift, Matty does a solo performance while a woman named Elise does an aerial ribbon show above the crowd.

Adam watches for a moment with a smile before going to look for George.

He figures he will probably be on the outdoor balcony smoking again.

Heading to the hallway, he passes Alex and Abby sitting in an oversized chair in the V.I.P. section, stopping to hug John and Ross who are making their way from the seats to the dj booth to hang out with Matty.

He heads down the hallway with a smile, ready to say the words to George.

As he opens the door, he sees George is in fact out here, but he isn't alone, and Adam's heart drops, stopping him in his tracks.

It feels like an eternity passes by, but it was more like a few seconds.

His presence hasn't been noticed yet, so he steps back inside, stunned, and lets the door close again.

He looks around for a moment before he feels the floor crumbling away beneath him.

  
  
  


George suddenly snaps, wrenching himself away so viciously that he feels an ache in his neck.

"Get the fuck away from me," he spits out venomously. "You don't have that fuckin power over me anymore."

"Sure about that?" Trent smirks.

George nods firmly, having never felt more certain about anything else.

"You're a fucking sociopath piece of shit who tried and failed to ruin my life and Matty's life, and if you think you get another attempt at me, you're stupider than I was back then."

George backs away more, his skin on fire from where Trent had pinched his chin between his thumb and knuckles. His mouth feels like he just took a swig of battery acid.

"You don't think I've changed?"

"I don't care if you have. You're less than shit to me. You can change however you want, I will still never see you as more than that. The damage is done. And I've been happier every day since I got away from you."

Trent sighs, looking down.

George knows he is trying to guilt him, but Trent's face is flat, no remorse showing.

"And no. I don't think you've changed. I'll probably never believe you're even capable," George finally says.

Trent looks up, feigning hurt, but George sees the glint in his eyes.

"You stay away from me. And Matty. And anyone else I know, for that matter."

With that, George turns around, making his way back inside.

He leans against the hallway wall, gasping for a moment.

_Adam._

He needs to find Adam. He should be off his shift by now, and he's desperate for the safety he felt in his arms earlier.

The fact that that piece of shit kissed him makes his stomach churn.

The fact that he felt trapped, in a trance as Trent came toward him makes him nearly throw up. He couldn't move.

But he snapped out of it, and he knows he's strong enough to not fall for Trent's shit again.

"I am in control now. Not him," he says to himself.

He shakes as he walks down the hall, heading toward the V.I.P. area again.

He looks around, seeing Sarah behind the bar, and Matty is close to the end of his solo set, John and Ross at his side.

George chews his lip, finally spotting Jamie coming from the back hallway.

He makes his way to him on unsteady legs.

"Jamie, is Adam off the clock yet?"

Jamie gives him a glare before looking down at his clipboard, writing something, and says, "he has been for 15 minutes."

"Where is he?"

Jamie sighs and drops the clipboard to his side.

"Likely on his way home. Why?"

Alex and Abby come into view over Jamie's shoulder, and Alex looks furious, Abby biting her lip.

"Why is he going home? I thought h-"

"Well, he's exhausted. It's been a long day. And I think he figures he'd just be in your way," Jamie spits out.

George shifts, unsure of what is happening.

Alex steps around Jamie, getting in George's face and says, "yeah, see this way, you and your fuckin ex don't have to sneak around behind his back."

"What?" George asks.

"Oh, don't act clueless. Adam fuckin saw you, mate! He got off his shift, and was so excited to go find you. He opened the door to the balcony just in time to see you and your ex snogging!"

George's body goes cold.

"You're a good actor, though. He really bought that rubbish you tried to sell him."

Abby starts trying to get him to stop, causing them to start bickering, but George doesn't hear anything

All he can hear is his heart beating too fast and too loud.

He has to find Adam.

He suddenly grabs Jamie, pulling him away from Alex and saying, "Jamie, where is he?"

Jamie steps out of his grasp, saying, "he left!"

"I have to find him, I have to explain. He doesn't-"

"Explain what? What, let me guess: you tripped? Had an oopsie?" Alex shouts mockingly.

"Alex! Stop!" Abby shouts.

George ignores them all, walking away to the stairwell, and letting the door fall shut behind him as he pulls his phone out, finding Adam's name and hitting 'call'.

Of course he doesn't answer.

George runs down the stairs, making his way to the back door and out to the parking lot, looking around.

Adam's car is gone.

His heart sinks and he tries to call him again, this time it rings once, then goes to voicemail.

He sighs, waiting for the beep.

"Adam, I know you don't want to hear this, because it sounds like bullshit, and now you don't think you can trust me, but what you saw wasn't… I stopped it. Too late, obviously, but I did. I…. Please come back…" he cringes as he hears his voice crack.

He sighs, knowing Adam most likely isn't even going to listen to the voicemail.

Hanging up, he runs his hand through his hair, leaning against the wall and sliding down, crouching.

Suddenly the door swings open, Alex and Abby coming outside, followed closely by Jamie, John, Ross, and then Matty.

Alex and Abby are arguing, and someone touches George's shoulder, but he doesn't register any of it.

Finally, he looks up, seeing John and Matty squatted down in front of him, and he hears John saying his name.

"Everything's fucked," he says weakly.

Matty pulls George into him, holding him tightly and running his fingers through his hair.

He glances up at Jamie, who looks away, chewing his lip before coming to crouch beside George.

"Why were you kissing him?" He says quietly.

"I-I wasn't. He caught me off guard out there. Started bringing up all these things he did to me back then and how he wanted to make things right. He- I couldn't even move. And he came toward me and I still couldn't- it was like being in a trance. I wanted to move and I couldn't. He touched my face and pressed his lips to mine, and I… I finally snapped out of it. Him touching me made me feel sick. Him kissing me… I felt like I was going to explode. Everything that monster put me through…. I'm not stupid enough to be his little toy anymore," George feels his anger and disgust bubbling up. "I'm better. I'm happy now. He doesn't get to control me anymore. And I-...." He bites his lip. "But he got to ruin everything again, anyway, didn't he?"

He looks up at Jamie, then around at everyone, stopping at Alex.

"Because now, Adam's never going to trust me again. He thinks I-...."

He looks down burying his face in his hands.

"I wrenched away from him and told him off, and all I could think about was Adam. And how safe I felt in his arms after I told him what Trent had put me through. What he put Matty through. And I fuckin needed that. I felt so nauseous and disgusted and… hurt. I knew if I found Adam, he'd hold me, and make me feel okay again. He always makes me feel so good. But… I….."

He bites his lip hard, letting Matty wrap him up again.

Jamie stands, pulling his phone out of his pocket and walking around the corner.

Nobody makes a sound.

  
  
  


Adam walks into his apartment in a haze.

He sets his keys on the counter, but they miss and fall onto the floor. He goes towards his bedroom, but remembers the sheets haven't been changed since he woke up beside George yesterday morning, so he trudges to the couch, flopping down and sitting in the half-dark, just the entryway light on.

Tonight wasn't real. It couldn't have been.

His mind swirls for a while before he starts berating himself.

_This is why you shouldn't let people get too close. You fell in love and for what?_

He curls up on his side and stares at the wall.

After a few minutes, his thoughts are interrupted by his phone ringing, and he fishes it out of his pants, preparing to ignore George's call again.

He pauses when he sees Jamie's name pop up.

He's not really ready to talk to Jamie, who is probably calling to check up on him.

_Jamie is trying to be a good friend, don't ignore him._

Adam answers and puts the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" He croaks out.

"Adam, hey, mate. Listen, I- you know I would never do anything that I thought wasn't in your best interest, right?"

"I guess so."

"Do you trust my judgement?"

"Y-yeah."

"I think you should answer when George calls again. Listen. Then decide how you feel. Okay?"

"No, Jamie. I-"

"Adam. He didn't kiss that fucking snake. He was in shock, it sounds like. He called it a trance, says that's what that guy does. But he snapped out of it and pulled away, then told him off and went looking for you, because he felt all fucked up, and he said you made him feel safe after the encounter with him earlier. I don't know. George sounds like… really hazy and…. I don't know. He's definitely not in his right mind right now. Matty and John are trying to console him, but he feels like he just lost you, and that dude got to fuck his life up again."

Adam absently wipes at his face, feeling a tickle on his nose, and realizes he's crying.

"Anyway. I'm going to have him tell you all of this, so please just listen. I- I think he's being honest. I don't know him as well as you do, but I don't think this is some fabricated shit. I believe him. And I think what that dude did has him fucked up already, but thinking he's lost you because of it is doing some serious damage."

"Jamie…"

"I know. Just hear him out, and then whatever your decision is, I'll back you up."

Adam chokes out an 'okay'.

He hears some distant talking for a bit and a rustling.

Faintly, he hears George's voice and he feels so weak.

He's going to listen, let George tell him whatever, and no matter what, he will blindly believe him. Because he's foolish enough to want to be in love so badly- wants to be in love with George so badly- that he'll let himself get tricked.

But why would George have gone through everything they've done, over a month together, to lie to Adam?

_Because you're gullible and everyone can see it._

Adam shakes his head.

Jamie. Jamie wouldn't be in on it. Jamie said he believes what George said. Jamie is harder to fool than Adam, and Jamie is protective of Adam.

He's brought out of his thoughts when he hears George softly say his name.

"Adam?"

He holds his breath for a moment.

"Adam, I don't know if you're listening or not, but I'm so sorry I made you think I-.... Listen, if I were ever going to leave anyone- especially you- for anyone else, it wouldn't be me going back to the most abusive and painful relationship I could even imagine. I- I just froze. And he kissed me, and it felt like going face first into chemical waste. It made me feel sick. Like being poisoned. I finally snapped out of it, and I felt so strong, because he didn't have the power over me he used to. And I knew it. But I still felt- still feel- weak. I feel like if you bungee jumped, and your cord snapped. But I've got this parachute, and I managed to pull the cord, but…. But the parachute isn't in great shape. It's probably going to keep me from falling, but it needs repairs. And all I could think about was how… when you held me earlier… after I had told you about him, and what he did to me and to Matty…. I've never felt so safe and so sure. It's still scary to trust anyone else so much after what he did, but I know you are nothing like him. Nothing is a scheme with you. I never see that devilish glimmer in your eyes when you're telling me something. You never look like you're even capable of being dishonest and using me. You've never made me feel like trusting you was a huge mistake, or that me being upset was just an overaction, or any of the things he did to fuck me up so badly that just being alone on that balcony with him talking to me incapacitated me. I felt trapped, like a fucking wounded animal. He knows exactly how to make people feel like that, but he didn't realize that I've learned, and it…. It took me a minute to remember that I'm not this wounded animal. I'm not easy prey for him anymore, and I… just wish you could have seen me break away from him, and stand up to him, because I was so proud of myself, and I bet you would've been proud, too. And I care so much about what you think of me…. But I can't make you believe me right now. And I know that. If you believe anything I told you about him, you know that I know why you can't just trust what I'm saying right now. I understand. I- I want you to believe me and forgive me for not pushing past his shit sooner, but I can't ask you to do that, because I know how it feels to not be able to just trust someone."

Adam covers his mouth, pinching his eyes shut.

"Adam, I lo- I can't say what I want to tell you right now, because that wouldn't be fair. I want to tell you when it doesn't sound like I'm just trying to get you to come back…. But I do," he says, almost whispering the last part.

Adam's heart stops.

George was about to say 'I love you'.

"I am going to go pretend I'm fine and finish this show. Give you time and all… I… I hope you at least heard everything I said. Maybe you even believe that I mean it," he mumbles, almost to himself, "I sure hope so," before saying into the phone, "goodnight, Adam…."

There's some rustling and Adam hears Jamie say his name.

"Adam? Are you still there, mate?"

He sniffles and finally says, "yes."

"Did you hear what George said?"

"Yes."

"Right. I'll check on you next break, okay?"

"Kay."

Adam hangs up and buries his face into the couch.

**To Be Continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sequel is here:
> 
> [Avalanche](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29377857)


End file.
